The Breitenfeld family in Bohemia and Vienna featured musicians in every generation throughout the 1800s, 1900s, and to the present day. Desmond's mother, born Shirley King, was Catholic, and of Irish descent. Desmond's father, Emil Breitenfeld, was a pianist, organist, arranger, and composer.
His grandfather Sigmund Breitenfeld was, according to an obituary, born in Austria in 1857.
The Breitenfeld family in Bohemia and Vienna featured musicians in every generation throughout the 1800s, 1900s, and to the present day. Desmond's mother, born Shirley King, was Catholic, and of Irish descent. Desmond's father, Emil Breitenfeld, was a pianist, organist, arranger, and composer.
Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's biggest hit, "Take Five".
After years of chain smoking and poor health, Desmond succumbed to lung cancer in 1977 after a tour with Brubeck. ==Early life== Desmond was born Paul Emil Breitenfeld in San Francisco, California, in 1924, the son of Shirley (née King) and Emil Aron Breitenfeld.
Starting in 1933, Desmond spent nearly five years living with relatives in New Rochelle, New York due to his mother's mental health problems. Desmond began to study clarinet at the age of twelve, which he continued while at San Francisco Polytechnic High School.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Desmond frequently took amphetamines, and in the 1970s, he was known to use cocaine.
He told many stories over the years regarding how he chose the name Desmond, but his biographer Doug Ramsey offers an account from Desmond's friend Hal Strack that the two were listening to the Glenn Miller band singer Johnny Desmond in 1942, and Desmond told Strack "that's such a great name.
Desmond offered to perform arranging and administrative work for Brubeck's band, and to babysit Brubeck's children, and Brubeck finally relented and agreed to try working with Desmond again. ===Dave Brubeck Quartet=== Desmond had met Dave Brubeck in 1944 while still in the military.
After making the cut he—unlike Desmond—was sent overseas in 1944, to Europe.
Desmond once told Marian McPartland of National Public Radio's Piano Jazz that he was taken aback by the chord changes Brubeck introduced during that 1944 audition.
He spent three years in the military, but his unit was not called to combat. In 1946, following his military discharge, Desmond legally changed his last named from Breitenfeld to Desmond.
It's so smooth and yet it's uncommon....If I ever decide I need another name, it's going to be Desmond." Desmond was married from 1947 to 1949 to Duane Reeves Lamon.
It's so smooth and yet it's uncommon....If I ever decide I need another name, it's going to be Desmond." Desmond was married from 1947 to 1949 to Duane Reeves Lamon.
In 1950 Desmond joined the band of Jack Fina and toured with Fina for several months, but he returned to California after hearing Brubeck's trio on the radio and deciding that he should repair his relationship with Brubeck and attempt to join Brubeck's increasingly successful band. At the time, Brubeck and Brubeck's wife Iola had three small children, and Brubeck had instructed Iola not to let Desmond set foot in the family home.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Desmond frequently took amphetamines, and in the 1970s, he was known to use cocaine.
That is how the Dave Brubeck Quartet had its start, a group that began in 1951 and ended in December 1967.
The quartet became especially popular with college-age audiences, often performing in college settings like on their ground-breaking 1953 album Jazz at Oberlin at Oberlin College, or on their recordings on the campuses of Ohio University and the University of Michigan, among others.
The success of the quartet led to a Time magazine piece on them in 1954, with the famous cover featuring Brubeck's face.
Hall played on several albums recorded by Desmond between 1959 and 1963 for the Warner Bros.
Hall played on several albums recorded by Desmond between 1959 and 1963 for the Warner Bros.
That is how the Dave Brubeck Quartet had its start, a group that began in 1951 and ended in December 1967.
The group played until 1967, when Brubeck switched his musical focus from performance to composition and broke the unit up.
In June 1969 Desmond appeared at the New Orleans Jazz Festival with Gerry Mulligan, procuring favorable reactions from critics and audience members.
During the 1970s Desmond joined Brubeck for several reunion tours, including "Two Generations of Brubeck".
In the 1940s and 1950s, Desmond frequently took amphetamines, and in the 1970s, he was known to use cocaine.
After some time spent inactive, Desmond was asked to play the Half Note in New York City in 1971 by Hall.
Desmond also joined the Modern Jazz Quartet for a Christmas concert in 1971 at the New York Town Hall. Desmond was a guest artist on five tracks by Chet Baker recorded between 1975 and 1977.
During Brubeck's Two Generations tours, Desmond and Mulligan shared the stage together in 1974.
Baker and Desmond also appeared together on two tracks included on Jim Hall's 1975 Concierto album. Desmond met Canadian guitarist Ed Bickert through a recommendation by Jim Hall, and Desmond performed with Bickert at several clubs in the Toronto area during 1974–1975.
Live recordings of that concert and club dates with Bickert performed during 1974-1975 were released during and after Desmond's lifetime. ==Personal life== In their private lives Dave Brubeck and his family were very close to Paul Desmond, though the two men possessed very different personalities.
Desmond also joined the Modern Jazz Quartet for a Christmas concert in 1971 at the New York Town Hall. Desmond was a guest artist on five tracks by Chet Baker recorded between 1975 and 1977.
Baker and Desmond also appeared together on two tracks included on Jim Hall's 1975 Concierto album. Desmond met Canadian guitarist Ed Bickert through a recommendation by Jim Hall, and Desmond performed with Bickert at several clubs in the Toronto area during 1974–1975.
Desmond featured Bickert on his 1975 studio album Pure Desmond, and the two played together at the 1976 Edmonton Jazz Festival.
In 1976 Desmond played 25 shows in 25 nights with Brubeck, touring the United States in several cities by bus. ===Other collaborations=== Desmond worked several times during his career with baritone saxophonist and band leader Gerry Mulligan.
Desmond featured Bickert on his 1975 studio album Pure Desmond, and the two played together at the 1976 Edmonton Jazz Festival.
Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's biggest hit, "Take Five".
After years of chain smoking and poor health, Desmond succumbed to lung cancer in 1977 after a tour with Brubeck. ==Early life== Desmond was born Paul Emil Breitenfeld in San Francisco, California, in 1924, the son of Shirley (née King) and Emil Aron Breitenfeld.
Desmond also joined the Modern Jazz Quartet for a Christmas concert in 1971 at the New York Town Hall. Desmond was a guest artist on five tracks by Chet Baker recorded between 1975 and 1977.
Clarinetist Perry Robinson recalls in his autobiography that Desmond would sometimes need a vitamin B12 shot just to go on playing during his later career. Desmond died on May 30, 1977, not of his heavy alcohol habit but of lung cancer, the result of his longtime heavy smoking.
His last concert was with Brubeck in February 1977, in New York City.
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