Paul Desmond

小简介
“酷” 派爵士的传奇人物Paul Desmond以中音萨克斯风闻名於世，他的吹奏理念源自早期的Benny Carter及Pete Brown。Desmond避免使用中音萨克斯风的人声效果，亦甚少引用蓝调字汇，以吹奏谱出美丽的旋律为主，而这正是“酷”派的原则。Desmond於 1951年自组四重奏，其间推出的一张“Take Five”更被誉为爵士国度中的一首“国歌”。50年代末期，这支组合完美的结束，亦将Desmond带入了Fantasy公司，在此，Desmond与吉他手Jim Hall组成四重奏，成为爵士史上最富旋律感的配搭。Desmond与Gerry Mulligan的双萨克斯风组合，在此时期亦大放光芒，虽然Desmond并非可以成功地於不同的阵型中表现特出，但重要的是适当的组合却有效使得 Desmond的萨克斯风发挥出有史以来最美妙的声音之一。
by Thom Jurek
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 pianists 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. Desmonds 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.