Frogtoon Music

Take Ten (Album) by Paul Desmond

Artist Biography For Paul Desmond

Paul Desmond 1924-1977 Was A U.S Jazz Saxophonist. Desmond Was Born Paul Emil Breitenfeld In San Francisco California On 25th November 1924. He Came To Prominence With The Dave Brubeck Quartet Which Lasted From 1951 Until 1967. Desmond Wrote Their Biggest Hit "Take Five". Desmond's Alto Saxophone Tone And Technique Owed Nothing To The Great Alto Player Of The Time Charlie Parker Instead His Was A Clear Light Floating Sound And Highly Melodic Playing Style. Much Of The Success Of The Classic Brubeck Quartet Was Due To The Superposition Of His Fragile Airy Sound Over Brubeck's Sometimes Relatively Heavy Polytonal Piano Work. Desmond Died On 30th May 1977. Paul Desmond Is Widely Recognized For His Genius As A Melodic Improviser And As The Benchmark Of Cool Jazz Sax Players. His Warm Elegant Tone Was One That He Admittedly Tried To Make Sound Like A Dry Martini. He And Art Pepper Were Virtually The Only Alto Players Of Their Generation Not Directly Influenced By Charlie Parker. Desmond Was Influenced By Lester Young But Took It Further Into Melodic And Harmonic Worlds Never Before Traveled By Reedmen -- Especially In The Upper Registers. Desmond Is Best Known For His Years With The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1959-1967 And His Infamous Composition "Take Five." He Met Brubeck In The Late '40s And Played With His Octet. The Quartet Formed Toward The End Of 1950 And Took Final Shape With Eugene Wright And Joe Morello A Few Years Later. Jazz At Oberlin And Take Five Were Considered Essential Purchases By College Students Of The Era But Jazz Impressions Of Japan Was Its Most Innovative Recording. Desmond Played His Loping Slow Ordered And Intricate Solos In Direct Contrast To The Pianist's Obsession With Large Chords Creating A Myriad Of Textures For Melodic And Rhythmic Counterpoint Unlike Any Heard In Jazz. His Witty Quotations From Musicals Classical Pieces And Folk Songs Were Also A Watermark Of His Artistry. When The Quartet Split In 1967 Desmond Began An Intermittent Yet Satisfying Recording Career. It Included Dates With Gerry Mulligan For Verve Various Sessions With Jim Hall And A Concert With The The Modern Jazz Quartet. He Played His Last Gigs With The Brubeck Quartet At Reunions Before Dying Of Lung Cancer. Desmond's Recordings For RCA Have Gotten Box-Set Treatment And Mosaic Issued One Of The Complete Sessions With Hall. There Are Also Reissues From A&M And CTI Though Recordings On Artist House And Finesse Remain Regrettably Out Of Print. ~ Thom Jurek Rovi

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Frogtoon Music Album Info: Take Ten

Take Ten Was Desmond's Follow-Up Composition To Take Five For The Brubeck Quartet A Hit Record And For Paul A Dependable Annuity That Is Still Producing Considerable Income For His Estate. The Bassist For The Title Tune Of Desmond's Second RCA Album Is Eugene Wright Fellow Brubeckian And Shaman Of 5/4 Time Who In The Early Sixties When 5/4 Was Sanskrit To Most Jazz Musicians Would Hold Little Counting Seminars Backstage "1 2 3/1 2 " He Would Instruct The Locals "that's The Only Way You Can Keep Track Of It Until It Becomes Natural." In Take Ten It Is Obviously Natural To Gene. Desmond Is Misterioso Near-Eastern And Bluesy. Jim Hall Was One Of The First American Musicians To Return From Brazil With News Of Bossa Nova That Felicitous Melding Of Samba And Harmonies From The French Impressionists And Jazz. Desmond Saw Deeply Into Its Beautiful Possibilities. His El Prince Is Heard In Two Versions With Drummer Connie Kay In A Complex Samba Pattern. The Second Take Which Languished In A Tape Box For Two Decades Is A Tad Slower And Has Forceful Desmond A Buoyant Solo By Hall And Intriguing Bass Lines By Gene Cherico. At Least One Hearing Of Alone Together Can Profitably Be Spent Concentrating On Connie's Snare Accents And Cymbal Work Little Kicks Of Encouragement. Paul At A Fairly Good Clip Marries Relaxation And Irresistible Swing Especially In His Second Solo. Jim Quotes Dizzy Gillespie's Anthropology And In The Bridge Of His Second Solo Chorus Has The Kind Of Chord Fiesta That Makes Grown Men Weep If They Are Guitarists. The Structure Of This Song Is A Normal AABA But The First Two A Sections Are 14 Bars Instead Of The Usual Eight. The Composition Hangs Together So Well The Eccentricity Is Not Obvious. The Originally Issued Take Of Embarcadero Has Nifty Counterpoint In The First 16 Bars Following The Guitar Solo. One Of Several Original Desmond Bossa Novas The Tune Could Be Named After The Embarcadero In His Native San Francisco Or The One In Rio Or Both. Luiz Bonfa's Gorgeous Theme From The Film Black Orpheus Brings Us To Kay Laying Down The Basic Bossa Nova Pattern Hall And Cherico In Rhythmic Cahoots And Paul Soaring. The Tag Is Played As Written Then The Piece Is Taken Out On A Vamp Ending. Nancy Sounds As If Paul Like Lester Young Thought Of A Ballad's Lyrics As He Played It. Hall's Introduction Is Among His Finest. Samba De Orfeu Is One Of The Most Famous Pieces Introduced By Antonio Carlos Jobim. Desmond Regretted The Hype And Hoopla Surrounding The Bossa Nova Phenomenon But This Marvelous Music Insinuated Itself Quickly Into American Jazz. As He Hoped It Has Become A Permanent Element. The One I Love Gets A Fluid Performance With No Quotes And No Cliches. In His Solo Hall Alternates Legato And Punchy Passages To Great Effect. Out Of Nowhere Has Interesting Desmond Modulations In The Opening Chorus. Hall's Comping Is Exemplary And Kay Negotiates A Classic Bop Ride Cymbal Pattern Throughout. Following Jim's Two-Chorus Solo He And Desmond Trade Twos Then Paul And The Rhythm Section Do A Chorus Of Stop-Time. – DOUG RAMSEY