Pre-Release
- 31 JAN 1900
- 11 Songs
- Take Ten (Bonus Track Version) · 1961
- Glad to Be Unhappy · 1964
- Take Ten (Bonus Track Version) · 1961
- Take Ten (Bonus Track Version) · 1961
- Desmond Blue (Remastered) · 1962
- Desmond Blue (Remastered) · 1962
- Easy Living · 1965
- 100 Jazz Masters, Vol.5 · 2012
- Glad to Be Unhappy · 1964
- Play It Again! · 2021
Essential Albums
- 2013
Artist Playlists
- Brubeck wouldn't be Brubeck without this saxophonist's cool sound.
- The exquisitely soft sax guru was also a malleable collaborator.
- 2021
Appears On
- The Dave Brubeck Quartet
- Dave Brubeck
About Paul Desmond
While Charlie Parker’s mark could be found on virtually every post-1950 jazz alto saxophonist, Paul Desmond built on the influence of fellow king-of-Cool Lee Konitz to become a school unto himself. Like Konitz’s, Desmond’s style is deceptively light and airy, more akin to the sheer tone of Lester Young than the fires of Parker. Desmond’s approach was less cerebral than that of Konitz however, and so more appealing to a wider audiences. Desmond was best known for his decades-long (1951-1967) association with Dave Brubeck, but he also had a thriving solo career during and after Brubeck. (Brubeck and Desmond reunited shortly before the latter’s death.)
- HOMETOWN
- San Francisco, CA, United States
- BORN
- 25 November 1924
- GENRE
- Jazz