{"id":8867,"date":"2017-11-25T00:30:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-25T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=8867"},"modified":"2017-11-25T20:07:37","modified_gmt":"2017-11-26T04:07:37","slug":"paul-desmond-93","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2017\/11\/paul-desmond-93\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Desmond, 93"},"content":{"rendered":"

Had Paul Desmond lived, today he would be celebrating\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor, more likely, wryly acknowledging\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhis 93rd birthday. He was born in San Francisco on November 25, 1924. Several Rifftides<\/em> readers have sent communiqu\u00c3\u00a9s reminding me of the occasion. I might not have forgotten, but thank you for the alerts.<\/p>\n

\"\"John Bolger, proprietor of the dave brubeck jazz<\/a> website, sent a couple of photographs. In the shot on the left, he found Paul at work, presumably with the Brubeck Quartet, Desmond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s source of steady employment for seventeen years. On the right, we see\"\" Desmond captured by an uncredited photographer. It shows what Mr. Bolger describes as, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153typical Paul\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcigarette and cheeky grin.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The charm suggested by that shot ”\u00a0captivated virtually everyone who knew him. It was also a major component of his playing, recognizable at once to Desmond listeners around the world. When he died in New York on May 30, 1977, he was 52 years old.<\/p>\n

I interviewed the playwright Jack Richardson for my biography of Paul.<\/a>”\u00a0 He recalled what he said at the memorial service for the pal with whom he frequently dined, drank and entertained friends at Elaine’s restaurant on New York’s East Side.<\/p>\n

I more or less said that I found him the best company of anyone I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d known in my life. I found him the most loyal friend I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever had in my life. I found him the most artistic person I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever known in my life. I said that his leaving will make this planet a smaller and darker place for everyone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In The Village Voice<\/em>, Nat Hentoff recalled another moment at the service.<\/p>\n

The piano had been tuned, but nobody had played. Then, from the back of the room, a wiry, graying man, wearing a golf hat and a quizzical look not unlike Paul\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, moved almost at a run to the piano and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThis is a song Paul always asked for.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n

Jimmy Rowles played \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDarn That Dream,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 fitting it to Paul\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tone and floating beat. He got up, did a small jig, and uttered a cry. Not in mourning. What Thomas Wolfe called a goat cry\u00e2\u20ac\u201dto life. To Paul\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s music.<\/p>\n

So much for no immediate survivors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Darn That Dream” was the favorite song of Paul and his girlfriend, Jenna Whidden.<\/p>\n

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