View source for Paul Desmond

==Career==
After [[World War II]], Desmond started working in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] as a backing musician. He worked occasionally for [[Dave Brubeck]] at the Geary Cellar in San Francisco. For several weeks, he led a small [[Jazz band|jazz combo]] at the Band Box in [[Redwood City, California|Redwood City]] that included Brubeck. Desmond had a falling-out with Brubeck when he resigned from the Band Box and prevented Brubeck from taking over the residency.<ref name="Ramsey no page"/> 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 his wife Iola had three small children, and Brubeck had instructed Iola not to let Desmond set foot in the family home. Desmond appeared at Brubeck's San Francisco apartment one day while Dave was in the backyard hanging diapers on a laundry line, and Iola, defying Brubeck's wishes, let Desmond in and took him to Dave. 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.<ref name="doyle"/>

===Dave Brubeck Quartet===
{{main|The Dave Brubeck Quartet}}
{{Quote box
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| quote = Some people called him the stork—'Cause he would stand on one leg and leaned on the piano. But that ... that was when he was playing great. What used to scare me is I'd look at him and it would just be whites in his eyes, wouldn't be any eyeballs.
| source = [[Dave Brubeck]]<br/>([[PBS]] interview with [[Hedrick Smith]])<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Hedrick|title=Dave on Paul Desmond and the Quartet|website=PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/brubeck/talking/daveOnPaul.htm|date=June 4, 2007}}</ref>
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Desmond met [[Dave Brubeck]] in 1944 in the military. Brubeck was auditioning for the 253rd Army band, to which Desmond belonged. After making the cut, he—unlike Desmond—was sent overseas in 1944, to Europe. Desmond once told [[Marian McPartland]] of [[NPR|National Public Radio]]'s ''[[Piano Jazz]]'' that he was taken aback by the [[Chord progression|chord changes]] which Brubeck introduced during that 1944 audition. After Desmond persuaded Brubeck to hire him following his stint with [[Jack Fina]], the two had a contract drafted (of which Brubeck was the sole signatory); the wording forbade Brubeck from firing him, ensured Brubeck's status as group leader, and gave Desmond twenty percent of all profits generated from the quartet.<ref name="doyle"/><ref name="lees">{{cite book|last=Lees|first=Gene|title=Cats of Any Color: Jazz Black and White|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=2001|pages=[https://archive.org/details/catsofanycolor00gene/page/55 55–57]|isbn=0-306-80950-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/catsofanycolor00gene/page/55}}</ref> This established the [[Dave Brubeck#Dave Brubeck Quartet|Dave Brubeck Quartet]], which lasted from 1951 to December 1967.

The quartet became especially popular with college-age audiences, often performing in college settings, including their ground-breaking 1953 album ''[[Jazz at Oberlin]]'' at [[Oberlin College]] and at the campuses of [[Ohio University]] and the [[University of Michigan]]. The success of the quartet led to a ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine piece on them in 1954, with the famous cover featuring Brubeck's face.<ref>{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Henry|title=Essential Jazz: The First 100 Years|publisher=[[Thomson Wadsworth]]|year=2004|page=314|isbn=0-534-63810-4}}</ref>

After drummer [[Joe Dodge]] decided to leave the group, [[Joe Morello]] joined in late 1956, on Desmond's recommendation. Despite this, differences in musical aspirations and taste made their relationship a tense one for many years. Desmond hoped for a "tinky-boom" background-type drummer while Morello wanted to be recognized and featured. During Morello's first performance with the group, he was featured by Brubeck and received an ovation from the audience for his solo. Desmond resented this, and threatened to leave the group. Brubeck managed to keep both Desmond and Morello in the group but with friction between them for years. Desmond's grudge against Morello could also be heard during their performance. In their "[[Take the "A" Train|Take the 'A' Train]]" performance in [[Hanover]], Germany, in 1958, for example, Desmond's playing sounded lackluster and uninterested. After a passage of rhythmically complex playing from Morello, Desmond would sometimes play very quietly and or even drop out for a few bars. In their later years, they reconciled and became close friends.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tarik|date=2017-10-06|title=Desmond Vs. Drums, or Adventures in Tinky-Boom|url=https://raggywaltz.com/2017/10/06/desmond-vs-drums-or-adventures-in-tinky-boom/|access-date=2022-08-03|website=It's A Raggy Waltz}}</ref>

The Dave Brubeck Quartet played until 1967, when Brubeck switched his musical focus from performance to composition{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} and dissolved the group{{Disputed inline|Talk page section|for=Desmond wanted to leave|date=June 2023}}. During the 1970s, Desmond joined Brubeck for several reunion tours, including Two Generations of Brubeck. Accompanying them were Brubeck's sons, [[Chris Brubeck]], Dan Brubeck, and [[Darius Brubeck]]. In 1976, Desmond played 25 shows in 25 nights with Brubeck, touring the United States by bus.

===Other collaborations===
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| quote = Playing with Desmond and Mulligan was really mind-blowing because they were such heroes for me.
| source = [[Perry Robinson]]<ref name="robinson"/>
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Desmond worked several times during his career with baritone saxophonist and bandleader [[Gerry Mulligan]]. They made two studio albums together (''[[Blues in Time|Gerry Mulligan – Paul Desmond Quartet]]'' [1957] and ''[[Two of a Mind]]'' [1962]). In June 1969, Desmond appeared at the [[New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival|New Orleans Jazz Festival]] with Gerry Mulligan, with favorable reactions from critics and audience members.<ref name="doyle" /> During Brubeck's Two Generations tours, Desmond and Mulligan shared the stage in 1974. Unlike Brubeck, Mulligan had much in common with Desmond; they were similar in their interests and humor, and both were prone to addiction.<ref name="robinson" />

Desmond had a celebrated studio partnership with guitarist [[Jim Hall (musician)|Jim Hall]]. Hall played on several albums recorded by Desmond between 1959 and 1963 for [[Warner Records|Warner Bros.]] and [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]]. After a period of inactivity, Desmond was asked to play the [[Half Note Club|Half Note]] in New York City in 1971 by Hall. With his customary wryness, Desmond said that he took the job only because he was nearby and could tumble out of bed to work. The two continued to play at the club to packed audiences. Desmond also joined the [[Modern Jazz Quartet]] for a Christmas concert in 1971 at the [[The Town Hall (New York City)|New York Town Hall]].<ref name="doyle" />

Desmond was a guest artist on five tracks by [[Chet Baker]] recorded between 1975 and 1977. These were released on the albums ''[[She Was Too Good to Me]]'' ([[CTI Records|CTI]], 1974), ''[[You Can't Go Home Again (album)|You Can't Go Home Again]]'', and ''[[The Best Thing for You (album)|The Best Thing for You]]''. Baker and Desmond also appeared together on two tracks included on Jim Hall's 1975 album ''[[Concierto]]''.

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. Live recordings of that concert and club dates with Bickert performed during 1974–1975 were released during and after Desmond's lifetime.