Rifftides

Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...

Paul Desmond, Gone 40 Years

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Several Rifftides readers have sent messages reminding me that Paul Desmond died 40 years ago today. Thanks to all of them. I hadn’t forgotten.

One of Desmond’s most dedicated admirers, Svetlana Ilicheva, wrote from Moscow suggesting that Desmond’s solo on “Out of Nowhere” from a 1966 London radio broadcast would constitute a suitable memorial. Ms. Ilicheva explained that James Dobernig, whom she identified as “one of us,” sent her links to this and  several other Desmond/Brubeck videos. The solo is one of his most adventurous. He doesn’t perfectly execute everything he tries for, and part of the fun is hearing him blow back on course. The counterpoint at the end of the performance revives a practice that helped to make Brubeck and Desmond famous early in the life of the Brubeck Quartet.

  • Here are the names of the the full cast: Dave Brubeck , piano; Paul Desmond, alto saxophone, Eugene Wright, bass; Joe Morello, Drums.

The publisher of Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond would take to drink if I failed to remind you that the book is available as an ebook. Used, and occasionally new, hardcover copies, often at mind-blowing prices, may be found on the internet by googling the title. Their sales do neither the publisher nor the author a bit of financial good, but we hope that everyone will read and enjoy the book—and listen often to Paul.

Paul Desmond, 1924-1977

Comments

  2. Doug’s biography of Paul Desmond is outstanding. I read the ebook version and found it to be very well done.

  3. I’ll never forget that June day in 1977 when I opened the latest New Yorker magazine and read those shocking, unbelievable words. Paul left us way too soon, but fortunately he made many recordings that I think will be played and replayed as long as people are able to do so.

    Thanks to Svetlana Ilicheva and Jim Dobernig for locating and being advocates for classic recordings such as this. Credit is also due to the one who goes by “swell1954” on YouTube and posts there many of the obscure recordings that he manages to find. He also has a website which is well worth a look.

  4. Spectacular. Ms. Ilicheva clearly likes “brave” interpretations. Desmond’s quotes on his 140th chorus are wonderful, and his lyricism always moves me. I first heard PD when I was away at school in 1954. It took me a while to realize the reason I liked DB so much was because of PD’s lovely lines. Unmistakable sound. I only met him once, when he was playing at the Jazz Gallery – long gone – in NYC. Ms. Ilichiva should listen to Chet Baker doing “The Touch Of Your Lips” with Phil Markowitz on keyboard, Scott Lee on bass, and Jeff Brillinger on drums. One of the great, in my opinion, instances of gifted musicians sharing their insight.

  5. Thank you, Doug, for all the good you have done with the writing and publication of your Desmond biography and with the continuing publication of this blog. It is one of the first things I look at every morning, and I have enjoyed your thoughts and offerings immensely. And for me, as with many, TAKE FIVE was a blessing.

  6. I can’t at the moment recall who said it (Jimmy Breslin perhaps?), but someone put it rather eloquently. The substance of it was: He’s not gone, he’s just off on another road trip for a while.

    Paul left us two things. He left us his music, and he left us friends like you. That’s a very difficult combination to equal, let alone surpass.

    The Red Cross contribution is now in excess of seven million dollars.

    Noel

    • Mr. Silverman is the executor of the Desmond estate, whose sole legatee is the American Red Cross. The bulk of the bequest is from royalties earned by “Take Five.”

      • Thanks for pointing this out, and thanks to Mr. Silverman for the amazing update. I do disaster recovery work when I can and thus have learned a lot about the good work of the Red Cross. I donate to them often and always think about Paul when I do so. As I see it, we are working together.

    • “Paul Desmond’s not really gone. He’s just off on the road somewhere playing the bad towns.” (Pete Hamill)

      Paul Desmond – one of a kind.

        • Several years ago, I discovered Pete Hamill. He has become one of my very favorite writers of both fiction and essays for newspapers and magazines. “Forever” is a great place to start. During the ’70s, Pete turned out a half dozen or so detective novels in the style of John D. McDonald, another fine writer.

          Desmond’s not gone — his music often lives in my CD player, and it will as long as I’m kicking.

  7. One of Paul’s longest and most adventurous solos, and proof that this quartet still had plenty of mileage left in it, had they chosen to continue. I particularly like his quote from British Grenerdiers which he plays around with in his final chorus.

    I vividly remember the BBC radio anouncer reporting his death. It was a sunny May morning, I was just 23 years old and eating my cornflakes prior to going to work. I remember being saddened, as this was yet another one of my heros whom I wouldn’t be able to see in person. The year (1977), got worse with the subsequent deaths of Hampton Hawes, Sonny Criss and, I think, Frank Rossolino.

  8. At the beginning of Paul’s 6th chorus, he launches into a rather interesting phrase. It’s a phrase that sounds like it shouldn’t fit, but it does. Does anyone recognize it? It sounded familiar and I found that Paul used this same phrase in “Rising Sun,” from the album Jazz Impressions of Japan, recorded two years before this performance. I’m not sure if it’s actually a quote from a song or just a musical Desmondism, but it’s a remarkable testament to the genius and humor of Paul’s musical mind.

    • Tarik, Good catch! That phrase is in “Rising Sun”. My guess is that it’s a phrase that Paul invented rather than quoted from another song.

      I know next to nothing about harmony, but “Out Of Nowhere” makes an unusual harmonic change (or modulation) from the 2nd to 3rd bar and that phrase seems to fit that change correctly. For anyone who knows harmony, please explain this further and/or correct me if I’m using the wrong terminology. Thanks!

  9. Even though Miles said the alto isn’t supposed to sound that way, Desmond’s sound and ideas are incredibly beautiful and stunning…I’ve never hear him this on fire…thanks Doug I’ll keep digging this track forever…

  10. More of a question than a comment. Does anyone know or recall the praise that Marion Brown gave Desmond at some point? A friend of mine said that Marion regarded PD as a true original on the alto, but he couldn’t supply the exact quote.

  11. Your friend may be thinking of the poem Brown wrote about Desmond (“Paul Desmond”), in which he praises Desmond for creating his own sound. Unfortunately, I don’t have a copy handy to quote from.

    Thinking about Brown’s poem reminds me of what Anthony Braxton has said about Desmond. From the blog Destination Out:

    “Paul Desmond would open the world of the saxophone to me,” Braxton told Graham Lock in Forces in Motion. “I have never stopped loving this man’s music. The first thing that struck me was his sound. Then after that, his logic grabbed me. His music is widely misunderstood on many levels. He was fashionable for the wrong reasons and he was hated for the wrong reasons. It looked like he was a slow player, but in fact he was making very quick decisions and because he understood his craft so well his music has this air of easiness about it. Desmond understood how to get to the point quicker than most players ever learn.”

    • If Rifftides readers know of a poem about Desmond by Marion Brown (1931-2010), please let us know. This post, by a fellow Georgian, from the NPR program A Blog Supreme provides background about Brown’s life as an alto saxophonist. It includes a piece of his music.

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