Paul Desmond (1924 – 1977)
Born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, was a jazz alto saxophonist and composer born in San Francisco, best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for penning the group's greatest hit, "Take Five".
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It's like living in a house where everything's painted red.
Well, that I'm not playing better.
I could only write at the beach, and I kept getting sand in my typewriter.
I have won several prizes as the world’s slowest alto player, as well as a special award in 1961 for quietness.
Not for me. If I want to tune everybody out, I just take off my glasses and enjoy the haze.
You're beginning to sound like a cross between David Frost and David Susskind, and that is a cross I cannot bear.
Sometimes I get the feeling that there are orgies going on all over New York City, and somebody says, `Let's call Desmond,' and somebody else says,'Why bother? He's probably home reading the Encyclopedia Britannica.'
Writing is like jazz. It can be learned, but it can’t be taught.
I hate the way he writes. I kind of love the way he lives, though.
I think I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to sound like a dry martini.
I tried practicing for a few weeks and ended up playing too fast.
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