Name	Robert Bates
Caption	Bob Bates, 2002
Birth date	December 11, 1953
Other names	Bob Bates
Occupation	Game designer

Robert Bates (born December 11, 1953), better known as Bob Bates, is an American computer games designer. Starting as a designer in the 1980s for Infocom, he was later co-founder of Legend Entertainment, designing games such as Timequest and Eric the Unready. Bates has twice been the chairperson of the International Game Developers Association, and has written books about game design and development, such as Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games (2001). He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the IGDA, and in 2010, was selected by the International Game Developers Association as Person of the Year.

Overview

His first published game designs were the two interactive fiction titles and for Infocom. A third game was never finished because Infocom was closed in 1989. Soon after the end of Infocom, Bates and Mike Verdu founded Legend Entertainment to produce games in the Infocom tradition. Games designed by Bates for Legend include: Timequest, Eric the Unready, and John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles. He also contributed design and writing to other company games, including the Gateway series and the company's final game .

In the course of his career since 1986, he has written, designed, produced, or overseen more than 39 games that have sold over 6 million units and won over 60 industry awards, including two Adventure Game of the Year awards. He has worked on #1 titles for both the PC (Unreal 2) and for consoles (Spider-Man 3). He is twice past-Chair of the IGDA, and serves on the advisory boards of GDC Europe and George Mason University's undergraduate degree program in Game Design.

On September 1, 2009, Bates resigned his position as Chairman of the IGDA to continue his career as an independent game designer, writer, and producer.

Writing

References

External links

Bob Bates.com - official website

Bob Bates' Rap Sheet at MobyGames

Interview with Bob Bates at Adventure Classic Gaming (2001)

Infocom Authors - Bob Bates

Interview with Bob Bates with emphasis on his adventures and storytelling (2005)

Category:American video game designers Category:Living people Category:Interactive fiction writers Category:Infocom Category:1953 births

Name	Dave Brubeck
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	David Warren Brubeck
Born	December 06, 1920
Origin	Concord, California, United States
Instrument	Piano
Genre	Jazz Cool jazz West Coast jazz Third stream
Occupation	Pianist Composer Bandleader
Years active	1940s–present
Associated acts	Dave Brubeck Quartet
Associated artists	Paul Desmond Gerry Mulligan Joe Morello Eugene Wright

David Warren "Dave" Brubeck (born December 6, 1920) is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills. His music is known for employing unusual time signatures, and superimposing contrasting rhythms, meters, and tonalities.

His long-time musical partner, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, wrote the Dave Brubeck Quartet's best remembered piece, "Take Five", Brubeck experimented with time signatures throughout his career, recording "Pick Up Sticks" in 6/4, "Unsquare Dance" in 7/4, and "Blue Rondo à la Turk" in 9/8. He is also a respected composer of orchestral and sacred music, and wrote soundtracks for television such as Mr. Broadway and the animated mini-series This Is America, Charlie Brown.

Early life and career

Brubeck was born in Concord, California and grew up in Ione. His father, Howard "Pete" Brubeck, was a cattle rancher, and his mother, Elizabeth (née Ivey), who had studied piano in England under Myra Hess and intended to become a concert pianist, taught piano for extra money. Brubeck originally did not intend to become a musician (his two older brothers, Henry and Howard, were already on that track), but took lessons from his mother. He could not read sheet music during these early lessons, attributing this difficulty to poor eyesight, but "faked" his way through, well enough that this deficiency went mostly unnoticed.

Intending to work with his father on their ranch, Brubeck entered the College of the Pacific (now the University of the Pacific) studying veterinary science, but transferred on the urging of the head of zoology, Dr Arnold, who told him "Brubeck, your mind's not here. It's across the lawn in the conservatory. Please go there. Stop wasting my time and yours." Later, Brubeck was nearly expelled when one of his professors discovered that he could not read music. Several of his professors came forward, arguing that his ability with counterpoint and harmony more than compensated. The college was still afraid that it would cause a scandal, and agreed to let Brubeck graduate only after he promised never to teach piano.

After graduating in 1942, Brubeck was drafted into the army and served overseas in George Patton's Third Army. He was spared from service in the Battle of the Bulge when he volunteered to play piano at a Red Cross show; he was such a hit he was ordered to form a band. Thus he created one of the U.S. armed forces' first racially integrated bands, "The Wolfpack". He returned to college after serving nearly four years in the army, this time attending Mills College and studying under Darius Milhaud, who encouraged him to study fugue and orchestration, but not classical piano. While on active duty, he received two lessons from Arnold Schoenberg at UCLA in an attempt to connect with High Modernism theory and practice. However, the encounter did not end on good terms since Schoenberg believed that every note should be accounted for, an approach which Brubeck could not accept.

After completing his studies under Milhaud, Brubeck helped to establish Berkeley, California's Fantasy Records. He worked with an octet (the recording bears his name only because Brubeck was the best-known member at the time), and a trio including Cal Tjader and Ron Crotty. Highly experimental, the group made few recordings and got even fewer paying jobs. The trio was often joined by Paul Desmond on the bandstand, at Desmond's prodding.

Quartet era

magazine cover, "The Man on Cloud No. 7". November 8, 1954]]

Following a near-fatal swimming accident which incapacitated him for several months, Brubeck organized The Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1951, with Desmond on saxophone. They took up a long residency at San Francisco's Black Hawk nightclub and gained great popularity touring college campuses, recording a series of albums with such titles as Jazz at Oberlin (1953), Jazz at College of the Pacific (1953), and Brubeck's debut on Columbia Records, Jazz Goes to College (1954). In that same year, he was featured on the cover of Time magazine, the second jazz musician to be so honored (the first was Louis Armstrong on February 21, 1949.)

Early bassists for the group included Ron Crotty, Bob Bates, and Bob's brother Norman Bates; Lloyd Davis and Joe Dodge held the drum chair. In 1956, Brubeck hired Joe Morello, who had been working with Marian McPartland; Morello's presence made possible the rhythmic experiments that were to come. In 1958 Eugene Wright joined for the group's U.S. State Department tour of Europe and Asia; Wright would become a permanent member in 1959, making the "classic" Quartet's personnel complete.

Wright is African-American; in the late 1950s and early 1960s Brubeck canceled several concerts because the club owners or hall managers resisted the idea of an integrated band on their stages. He also canceled a television appearance when he found out that the producers intended to keep Wright off-camera.

In 1959, the Dave Brubeck Quartet recorded Time Out, an album their label was enthusiastic about but nonetheless hesitant to release. Featuring the album art of S. Neil Fujita, the album contained all original compositions, almost none of which were in common time: 9/8, 5/4, 3/4, and 6/4 were used. Nonetheless, on the strength of these unusual time signatures (the album included "Take Five", "Blue Rondo à la Turk", and "Three To Get Ready"), it quickly went platinum.

Time Out was followed by several albums with a similar approach, including Time Further Out: Miro Reflections (1961), using more 5/4, 6/4, and 9/8, plus the first attempt at 7/4; Countdown: Time in Outer Space (dedicated to John Glenn) (1962), featuring 11/4 and more 7/4; and Time Changes (1963), with much 3/4, 10/4 (which was really 5+5), and 13/4. These albums were also known for using contemporary paintings as cover art, featuring the work of Joan Miró on Time Further Out, Franz Kline on Time in Outer Space, and Sam Francis on Time Changes.

A high point for the group was their 1963 live album At Carnegie Hall, described by critic Richard Palmer as "arguably Dave Brubeck's greatest concert".

In the early '60s, Brubeck and his wife Iola developed a jazz musical, The Real Ambassadors, based in part on experiences they and their colleagues had during foreign tours on behalf of the U.S. State Department. The soundtrack album, which featured Louis Armstrong, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, and Carmen McRae was recorded in 1961; the musical itself was performed at the 1962 Monterey Jazz Festival.

, Eugene Wright, Brubeck and Paul Desmond.]] At their peak in the early '60s, the Brubeck Quartet was releasing as many as four albums a year. Apart from the 'College' and the 'Time' series, Brubeck recorded four LPs featuring his compositions based on the group's travels, and the local music they encountered. Jazz Impressions of the USA (1956, Morello's debut with the group), Jazz Impressions of Eurasia (1958), Jazz Impressions of Japan (1964), and Jazz Impressions of New York (1964) are less well-known albums, but all are brilliant examples of the quartet's studio work, and they produced Brubeck standards such as "Summer Song," "Brandenburg Gate," "Koto Song," and "Theme From Mr. Broadway." (Brubeck wrote, and the Quartet performed, the theme song for the Craig Stevens CBS drama series; the music from the series became material for the "New York" album.)

In 1961 Dave Brubeck appeared in a few scenes of the British Jazz/Beat film All Night Long, which starred Patrick McGoohan and Richard Attenborough. Brubeck merely plays himself, and his piano playing includes closeups of his fingerings. Brubeck performs "It's a Raggy Waltz" from the Time Further Out album and duets briefly with bassist Charles Mingus in "Non-Sectarian Blues".

In the early 1960s Dave Brubeck was the program director of WJZZ-FM radio (now WEZN). He achieved his vision of an all jazz format radio station along with his friend and neighbor John E. Metts, one of the first African Americans in senior radio management.

The final studio album for Columbia by the Desmond/Wright/Morello quartet was Anything Goes (1966) featuring Cole Porter songs. A few concert recordings followed, and The Last Time We Saw Paris (1967) was the "Classic" Quartet's swansong.

Later career

Brubeck's disbanding of the Quartet at the end of 1967 allowed him more time to compose the longer, extended orchestral and choral works that were occupying his attention (to say nothing of Brubeck's desire to spend more time with his family). February 1968 saw the premiere of The Light in the Wilderness for baritone solo, choir, organ, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Kunzel, and Brubeck improvising on certain themes within. The piece is an oratorio on Jesus's teachings. The next year, Brubeck produced The Gates of Justice, a cantata mixing Biblical scripture with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..

Further works followed, including the 1971 cantata Truth Is Fallen (now re-issued on CD by Collectables Records ), written in protest of the Vietnam War, and also dedicated to the memory of the Kent State shootings and Jackson State killings of May 1970. The work was premiered in Midland, Michigan on May 1, 1971 and released on LP in 1972.

Brubeck's jazz playing did not cease. He was quickly prevailed upon by Newport Jazz Festival producer George Wein to tour with Gerry Mulligan. A Brubeck "Trio" was soon formed: Jack Six on bass, and Alan Dawson on drums. From 1968 until 1973, The Dave Brubeck Trio featuring Gerry Mulligan performed extensively, releasing several concert albums (including one with guest Desmond) and one studio album.

In 1973 Brubeck formed another group with three of his sons, Darius on keyboards, Dan on drums, and Chris on electric bass or bass trombone. This group often included Perry Robinson, clarinet, and Jerry Bergonzi, saxophone. Brubeck would record and tour with this "Two Generations of Brubeck" group until 1978.

Brubeck and Desmond recorded an album of duets in 1975, then the Classic Quartet reassembled for a 25th anniversary reunion in 1976. Desmond died in 1977.

Brubeck's Quartet has remained vital, a primary creative outlet for the pianist. Bergonzi became a member and remained with the band until 1982. This version featured Chris Brubeck, and Randy Jones on drums. Jones joined in 1979 and is still with the band after over 30 years. Replacing Bergonzi was Brubeck's old friend Bill Smith, who knew Brubeck at Mills College and was a member of Brubeck's Octet in the late 1940s; he remained in the group through the '80s and recorded with it off and on until 1995. The best recording of this Smith/Brubeck/Jones Quartet is probably their remarkable Moscow Night concert of 1987, released on Concord Records.

The Quartet currently includes alto saxophonist and flautist Bobby Militello, bassist Michael Moore (who replaced Alec Dankworth), and Randy Jones.

In 1994, Brubeck was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.

Brubeck continues to write new works, including orchestral and ballet scores. He has worked extensively with the London Symphony Orchestra and tours about 80 cities each year.

At the 49th Monterey Jazz Festival in September 2006, Brubeck debuted his commissioned work, Cannery Row Suite, a jazz opera drawn from the characters in John Steinbeck's American classic writing about Monterey's roots as a sardine fishing and packing town. Iola (née Whitlock), Brubeck's wife since 1942, is his personal secretary, manager and lyricist, and co-authored the Cannery Row Suite with Dave. His performance of this as well as a number of jazz standards with his current quartet was the buzz of the Festival (an event Brubeck helped launch in 1958).

Because of his advancing years, Brubeck's touring has naturally decreased in activity. He announced at the end of 2008 that he would no longer tour internationally. On April 3, 2009, Brubeck was scheduled to play the album Time Out in its entirety to commemorate its 50th anniversary at the annual Brubeck Festival, but was not able to because of being in hospital with a viral infection. His son Darius filled in on piano with the rest of his quartet. A scheduled October, 2010 concert in St. Louis, MO was canceled after Brubeck's doctors advised against traveling and performing. He had a heart problem and was experiencing fatigue and dizziness. His doctors installed a pacemaker in his heart. His surgery was doing so well that his doctors said that he could resume his concert touring in November. He performed sold out shows at the Blue Note in New York City on Thanksgiving weekend, 2010, celebrating his 90th birthday.

Personal life

Four of Brubeck's six children are professional musicians. Darius, the eldest, is an accomplished pianist, producer, educator and performer. Dan is a renowned percussionist, Chris is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. Matthew, the youngest, is a versatile cellist with an impressive list of composing and performance credits. Brubeck's children often join with him in concerts and in the recording studio.

Brubeck believed what he saw during World War II contradicted the Ten Commandments, and the war evoked a spiritual awakening. He became a Catholic in 1980, shortly after completing the Mass To Hope which had been commissioned by Ed Murray, editor of the national Catholic weekly Our Sunday Visitor. Although he had spiritual interests before that time, he said, "I didn't convert to Catholicism, because I wasn't anything to convert from. I just joined the Catholic Church." In 1996, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2006, Brubeck was awarded the University of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal, the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics, during the University's commencement. He performed "Travellin' Blues" for the graduating class of 2006.

Brubeck founded the Brubeck Institute with his wife Iola at their alma mater, the University of the Pacific in 2000. What began as a special archive, consisting of the personal document collection of the Brubecks has since expanded to provide fellowships and educational opportunities in jazz for students, also leading to having one of the main streets the school resides on named in his honor, Dave Brubeck Way.

On April 8, 2008, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice presented Brubeck with a "Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy" for offering an American "vision of hope, opportunity and freedom" through his music. The State Department said in a statement that "as a pianist, composer, cultural emissary and educator, Dave Brubeck's life's work exemplifies the best of America's cultural diplomacy."

In September 2009, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced Brubeck as an Kennedy Center Honoree for exhibiting excellence in performance arts. The Kennedy Center Honors Gala took place on Sunday, December 6 (Brubeck's 89th birthday) and was broadcast nationwide on CBS on December 29 at 9:00 p.m. EST.

On September 20, 2009, at Monterey Jazz Festival, Brubeck was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree (D.Mus. honoris causa) from Berklee College of Music.

On May 16, 2010, Brubeck was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree (honoris causa) from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. The ceremony took place on the National Mall.

On July 5, 2010, Brubeck was awarded the Miles-Davis Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.In 2010, Bruce Ricker and Clint Eastwood produced a documentary about Brubeck for Turner Classic Movies (TCM) to commemorate his 90th birthday in December 2010.

Humanitarian causes

Brubeck has become a supporter of the Jazz Foundation of America in their mission to save the homes and the lives of elderly jazz and blues musicians, including musicians that survived Hurricane Katrina. Brubeck supported the Jazz Foundation by performing in their annual benefit concert "A Great Night in Harlem" in 2006.

Discography

Brubeck Trio with Cal Tjader, Volume 1 (1949)

Brubeck Trio with Cal Tjader, Volume 2 (1949)

Brubeck/Desmond (1951)

Stardust (1951)

Dave Brubeck Quartet (1951)

Jazz at the Blackhawk (1952)

Dave Brubeck/Paul Desmond (1952)

Jazz at Storyville (live) (1952)

featuring Paul Desmond In Concert (live) (1953)

Two Knights at the Black Hawk (1953)

Jazz at Oberlin (1953) Fantasy Records

Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond at Wilshire Ebell (1953)

Jazz at the College of the Pacific (1953) Fantasy Records

Jazz Goes to College (1954) Columbia Records

Dave Brubeck at Storyville 1954 (live) (1954)

Brubeck Time (1955)

Jazz: Red Hot And Cool (1955)

Brubeck Plays Brubeck (1956)

Dave Brubeck and Jay & Kai at Newport (1956)

Jazz Impressions of the U.S.A. (1956)

Plays and Plays and ... (1957) Fantasy Records

Reunion (1957) Fantasy Records

Jazz Goes to Junior College (live) (1957)

Dave Digs Disney (1957)

In Europe (1958)

Complete 1958 Berlin Concert (released 2008)

Newport 1958

Jazz Impressions of Eurasia (1958)

Gone with the Wind (1959) Columbia Records

Time Out (1959) Columbia Records/Legacy (RIAA: Platinum)

Southern Scene (1960)

The Riddle (1960)

Brubeck and Rushing (1960)

Brubeck a la Mode (1961) Fantasy Records

Tonight Only (1961)

Take Five Live (1961, released 1965)

Near-Myth (1961) Fantasy Records

Bernstein Plays Brubeck Plays Bernstein (1961)

Time Further Out (1961) Columbia Records/Legacy

Countdown—Time in Outer Space (1962) Columbia Records

The Real Ambassadors (1962)

Music From West Side Story (1962)

Bossa Nova U.S.A. (1962)

Brubeck in Amsterdam (1962, released 1969)

At Carnegie Hall (1963)

Brandenburg Gate: Revisited (1963) Columbia Records

Time Changes (album) (1963)

Dave Brubeck in Berlin (1964)

Jazz Impressions of Japan (1964) Columbia Records/Legacy

Jazz Impressions of New York (1964) Columbia Records/Legacy

Angel Eyes (1965)

My Favorite Things (1965)

The 1965 Canadian Concert (released 2008)

Time In (1966) Columbia Records

Anything Goes (1966)

Bravo! Brubeck! (1967)

Buried Treasures (1967, released 1998)

Jackpot (1967) Columbia Records

The Last Time We Saw Paris (1968)

Adventures in Time (Compilation, 1968) Columbia Records

The Light in the Wilderness (1968)

Compadres (1968)

Blues Roots (1968)

Brubeck/Mulligan/Cincinnati (1970)

Live at the Berlin Philharmonie (1970)

The Last Set at Newport (1971) Atlantic Records

Truth is Fallen (1972)

We're All Together Again For the First Time (1973)

Two Generations of Brubeck (1973)

Brother, the Great Spirit Made Us All (1974)

All The Things We Are (1974)

Brubeck & Desmond 1975: The Duets

DBQ 25th Anniversary Reunion (1976) A&M; Records

The New Brubeck Quartet Live at Montreux (1978)

A Cut Above (1978)

La Fiesta de la Posada (1979)

Back Home (1979) Concord Records

Tritonis (1980)

Paper Moon (1982)

Concord on a Summer Night (1982)

For Iola (1984)

Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz with guest Dave Brubeck (1984, released 1993)

Reflections (1985)

Blue Rondo (1986)

Moscow Night (1987)

New Wine (1987, released 1990)

The Great Concerts (Compilation, 1988)

Quiet As The Moon (Charlie Brown soundtrack) (1991)

Once When I Was Very Young (1991)

Trio Brubeck (1993)

''Late Night Brubeck (1994)

Just You, Just Me (solo) (1994)

Nightshift (1995)

''Young Lions & Old Tigers (1995)

To Hope! A Celebration (1996)

A Dave Brubeck Christmas (1996)

In Their Own Sweet Way (1997)

So What's New? (1998)

The 40th Anniversary Tour of the U.K. (1999)

One Alone (2000)

Double Live From the USA & UK (2001)

The Crossing (2001)

Vocal Encounters (Compilation, 2001) Sony Records

Classical Brubeck (with the London Symphony Orchestra, 2003) Telarc

Park Avenue South (2003)

The Gates of Justice (2004)

London Flat, London Sharp (2005) Telarc

Indian Summer (2007) Telarc

Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival 1958-2007 (2008)

Yo-Yo Ma & Friends Brubeck tracks: Joy to the World, Concordia. (2008)Sony BMG

Awards

Connecticut Arts Award (1987)

National Medal of Arts, National Endowment for the Arts (1994)

DownBeat Hall of Fame (1994)

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1996)

Doctorate honoris causa University of Fribourg, Switzerland (2004)

Laetare Medal (University of Notre Dame) (2006)

BBC Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award (2007)

Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy (2008)

Inducted into California Hall of Fame (2008)

Kennedy Centre Honour (2009) George Washington University Honorary Degree (2010)

References

Photographs, documents, and video clips of oral history interviews from the Brubeck Collection are available at the University of the Pacific Library's Digital Collections.

Bibliography

Isenberg, Barbara. State of the Arts: California Artists Talk About Their Work. 2005

External links

Dave Brubeck.com

2004 WNYC Interview with Brubeck

Dave Brubeck Collection at the University of the Pacific Library's Holt-Atherton Special Collections

Rediscovering Dave Brubeck, PBS, December 16, 2001 documentary

Dave Brubeck Discography Project

The Brubeck Institute

Biography, photos, CDs and concert review of Dave Brubeck by cosmopolis.ch

Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks

Dave Brubeck Quartet Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks

[ Dave Brubeck at AllMusic]

Musical Prayers Dave Brubeck, TIME Magazine

theartsdesk Q&A;: Dave Brubeck at 90 (3 December 2010)

Category:American jazz composers Category:American jazz pianists Category:American jazz songwriters Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Concord Records artists Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism Category:Cool jazz pianists Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Musicians from California Category:People from Concord, California Category:United States Army soldiers Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:University of the Pacific alumni Category:West Coast jazz pianists Category:1920 births Category:Living people

Name	Paul Desmond
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Paul Emil Breitenfeld
Alias	"The Stork"
Born	November 25, 1924
Died	May 30, 1977
Origin	San Francisco, California, United States
Instrument	Alto saxophone Clarinet
Genre	Cool jazz West Coast jazz Mainstream jazz
Occupation	Saxophonist Composer Arranger
Label	Columbia Records RCA Victor Horizon Records CTI Records
Associated acts	Dave Brubeck Ed Bickert Gerry Mulligan Jim Hall Chet Baker

Paul Desmond (November 25, 1924 – May 30, 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 that group's greatest hit, "Take Five". He was not only one of the most popular musicians to come out of the West Coast's "cool jazz" scene, but also the possessor of a legendary and idiosyncratic wit.

In addition to his work with Brubeck he led several of his own groups and did significant collaborations with artists such as Gerry Mulligan, Jim Hall and Chet Baker. After years of chain smoking and general poor health, Desmond succumbed to lung cancer in 1977 following one last tour with Brubeck.

Early life

Paul Desmond was born Paul Emil Breitenfeld in San Francisco, California in 1924. His father was an organist who played in movie theaters during silent films, and his mother was emotionally unstable during his upbringing. During childhood he spent years living with relatives in New York City due to problems at home. Desmond began playing violin at a young age, though his father forbade him to play it.

He played clarinet at the age of twelve at San Francisco Polytechnic High. It was not until he became a freshman at San Francisco State College that he picked up the alto saxophone. In his freshman year he was drafted into the United States Army and joined the Army band while stationed in San Francisco. He spent three years in the military, but his unit was never called to combat.}} 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 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.

The group played until 1967, when Brubeck switched focus from music to composition and broke the unit up. During the 1970s Desmond rejoined with Dave 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 he played 25 shows in 25 nights with Brubeck, touring the United States in several cities by bus.

Other collaborations

In June 1969 Desmond appeared at the New Orleans Jazz Festival with Gerry Mulligan, procuring favorable reactions from critics and audience members.}} Desmond was quite well-read and retained a unique wit. He enjoyed reading works by the thinkers of his generation like Timothy Leary and Jack Kerouac, also dabbling in some LSD usage. He was known to have several addictions, including Dewar's Scotch whisky and Pall Mall cigarettes. His chemical-dependency problems would sometimes drain him of his energy on the road. 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. He died in 1977, not of his heavy alcohol habit but of lung cancer, the result of his longtime heavy smoking. Never without his humor, after he was diagnosed with cancer he expressed pleasure at the health of his liver. His last concert was with Brubeck in February 1977, in New York City. His fans didn't know that he was already dying. Desmond specified in his will that all proceeds from "Take Five" would go to the Red Cross following his death. Desmond reportedly owned a full-size grand piano, which he loaned to Bradley Cunningham, owner of the famous Bradley's piano bar in Greenwich Village, with the condition that Mr. Cunningham had to move the large piano back to Desmond's Upper West Side apartment to become part of Desmond's estate. After this long and expensive process, Desmond willed the piano to Mr. Cunningham, a characteristic and final prank. The Paul Desmond Papers are held at the Holt-Atherton Special Collections in the University of the Pacific Library.

Style

Desmond had a light melodic tone when playing the alto saxophone that is similar to the style of Lee Konitz, one of his influences. He was able to achieve particularly high notes, called altissimo, becoming one of the best-known players from the West Coast's "cool school of jazz". Much of the success of the classic Brubeck quartet was due to the juxtaposition of his airy style over Brubeck's sometimes relatively heavy, polytonal piano work. His gift for improvised counterpoint is perhaps most notable on the two albums he recorded with Mulligan ("Mulligan-Desmond Quartet" and "Two of a Mind").

Desmond played a Selmer Super Balanced Action alto saxophone with an M. C. Gregory model 4A-18M mouthpiece — both circa 1951 — with Rico 3 ½ reeds.

Discography

{|Class="wikitable"|width=100% |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" !align="center" valign="bottom" width="20"|Year !align="center" vallign="bottom" width="230"|Album !align="center" valign="bottom" width="50"|Leader !align="center" valign="bottom" width="120"|Label |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1950 |align="left" valign="top"|The Dave Brubeck Octet |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Fantasy Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1951 |align="left" valign="top"|Brubeck/Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Fantasy Records |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1951 |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz At Storyville |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Fantasy Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1951 |align="left" valign="top"|Modern Complex Dialogues |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Alto Records |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1951 |align="left" valign="top"|How Long, Baby How Long, Pt. 1&2 |align="left" valign="top"|Jack Sheedy |align="left" valign="top"|Coronet Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1951 |align="left" valign="top"|The Man I Love c/w Down In Honkytonk Town |align="left" valign="top"|Jack Sheedy |align="left" valign="top"|Coronet |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1952 |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz At the Blackhawk |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Fantasy |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1952 |align="left" valign="top"|The Dave Brubeck Quartet |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Fantasy |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1953 |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz At Oberlin |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Fantasy |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1953 |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz at the College of the Pacific |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Fantasy |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1954 |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck At Storyville 1954 |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1954 |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz Goes to College |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1954 |align="left" valign="top"|Brubeck Time |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1954 |align="left" valign="top"|Gerry Mulligan/Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Gerry Mulligan & Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Fantasy |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1955 |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz: Red Hot And Cool |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1955 |align="left" valign="top"|Chet Baker Quartet Plus: The Newport Years, Vol. 1 |align="left" valign="top"|Chet Baker |align="left" valign="top"|Philology Records |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1956 |align="left" valign="top"|The Paul Desmond Quartet With Don Elliott |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Fantasy |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1956-57 |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck Quartet Live In 1956-57 Featuring Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz Band |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1956 |align="left" valign="top"|Live From Basin Street |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz Band |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1956 |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz Impressions Of U.S.A. |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1957 |align="left" valign="top"|Reunion |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck w/ Dave Van Kriedt |align="left" valign="top"|Fantasy |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1957 |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz Goes To Junior College |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1957 |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Digs Disney |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1957 |align="left" valign="top"|Blues in Time |align="left" valign="top"|Gerry Mulligan & Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Verve Records |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1958 |align="left" valign="top"|In Europe |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck Quartet |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1958 |align="left" valign="top"|Newport 1958 |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1958 |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz Impressions Of Eurasia |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1959 |align="left" valign="top"|Gone With the Wind |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1959 |align="left" valign="top"|Time Out |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1959 |align="left" valign="top"|St. Louis Blues |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Moon Records |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1959 |align="left" valign="top"|First Place Again! |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Warner Bros. Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1960 |align="left" valign="top"|Southern Scene |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1960 |align="left" valign="top"|Brubeck and Rushing |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck w/ Jimmy Rushing |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1960 |align="left" valign="top"|Bernstein Plays Brubeck Plays Bernstein |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck w/ Leonard Bernstein |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia Records |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1960 |align="left" valign="top"|Tonight Only w/ Carmen McRae |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1961 |align="left" valign="top"|Time Further Out |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|61, 63, 64 |align="left" valign="top"|The Complete Recordings Of The Paul Desmond Quartet With Jim Hall |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Mosaic Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1961 |align="left" valign="top"|Take Five With Carmen McRae |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1961 |align="left" valign="top"|Desmond Blue w/ Jim Hall |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|RCA Victor |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1962 |align="left" valign="top"|Countdown - Time In Outer Space |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1962 |align="left" valign="top"|Bossa Nova U.S.A. |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1962 |align="left" valign="top"|Brandenburg Gate Revisited |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1962 |align="left" valign="top"|Late Lament |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|RCA/Bluebird Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1962 |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond/Gerry Mulligan - Two Of A Mind |align="left" valign="top"|Desmond & Mulligan |align="left" valign="top"|RCA Victor |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1962 |align="left" valign="top"|Brubeck In Amsterdam |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1963 |align="left" valign="top"|The Dave Brubeck Quartet At Carnegie Hall |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck Quartet |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1963 |align="left" valign="top"|Take Ten w/ Jim Hall |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|RCA Victor |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|63, 64, 65 |align="left" valign="top"|Easy Living |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|RCA Victor |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1963 |align="left" valign="top"|Glad To Be Unhappy |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|RCA Victor |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1963 |align="left" valign="top"|Time Changes |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1964 |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz Impressions of Japan |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1964 |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz Impressions of New York |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1964 |align="left" valign="top"|In Concert 1964 |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz Connoisseur |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1964 |align="left" valign="top"|Bossa Antigua |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|RCA Victor |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1964 |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck In Berlin |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|CBS Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1965 |align="left" valign="top"|The Canadian Concert Of Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Can-Am Records |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1965 |align="left" valign="top"|Angel Eyes |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1965 |align="left" valign="top"|My Favorite Things |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1965 |align="left" valign="top"|Time In |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1966 |align="left" valign="top"|Anything Goes! |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1966 |align="left" valign="top"|The Quartet |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Europa Jazz |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1966 |align="left" valign="top"|Jackpot! |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1967 |align="left" valign="top"|Bravo! Brubeck! |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1967 |align="left" valign="top"|Buried Treasures |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia/Legacy |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1967 |align="left" valign="top"|Take Five Live |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Jazz Music Yesterday |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1967 |align="left" valign="top"|The Last Time We Saw Paris |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1968 |align="left" valign="top"|Summertime |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|A&M; Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1969 |align="left" valign="top"|From The Hot Afternoon |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|A&M; |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1969 |align="left" valign="top"|From The Hot Afternoon |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Verve |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1969 |align="left" valign="top"|Bridge Over Troubled Water |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|A&M; |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1971 |align="left" valign="top"|The Only Recorded Performance Of Paul Desmond With The Modern Jazz Quartet |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Finesse Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1972 |align="left" valign="top"|We're All Together Again For The First Time |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck/Gerry Mulligan/Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Atlantic Records |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1973 |align="left" valign="top"|Skylark |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|CTI Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1973 |align="left" valign="top"|Giant Box ("Song to a Seagull", "Vocalise") |align="left" valign="top"|Don Sebesky |align="left" valign="top"|CTI |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1974 |align="left" valign="top"|She Was Too Good To Me |align="left" valign="top"|Chet Baker |align="left" valign="top"|CTI |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1974 |align="left" valign="top"|Pure Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|CTI |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1975 |align="left" valign="top"|Like Someone In Love |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Telarc Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1975 |align="left" valign="top"|Concierto |align="left" valign="top"|Jim Hall |align="left" valign="top"|CTI |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1975 |align="left" valign="top"|1975: The Duets |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck/Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Horizon Records |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1975 |align="left" valign="top"|The Paul Desmond Quartet Live |align="left" valign="top"|Paul Desmond |align="left" valign="top"|Horizon |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1976 |align="left" valign="top"|25th Anniversary Reunion |align="left" valign="top"|Dave Brubeck |align="left" valign="top"|Horizon |- |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" |align="left" valign="top"|1977 |align="left" valign="top"|You Can't Go Home Again |align="left" valign="top"|Chet Baker |align="left" valign="top"|Horizon |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1977 |align="left" valign="top"|The Best Thing For You |align="left" valign="top"|Chet Baker |align="left" valign="top"|A&M; |- |- bgcolor="#efefef" |align="left" valign="top"|1977 |align="left" valign="top"|Watermark (Mr. Shuck 'n Jive) |align="left" valign="top"|Art Garfunkel |align="left" valign="top"|Columbia |}

Bibliography

How Many Of You Are There In Your Quartet? (unpublished - for years Paul claimed to be working on an autobiography, but nothing publishable was found among his effects. All that remains is a short story by this name )

Take Five - The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond, by Doug Ramsey. 2005 Parkside Publications, Inc. Seattle, WA 98104 www.parksidepublications.com ISBN No. 0-9617266-7-9

Forward by Dave and Iola Brubeck.

Excellent bio of the great lyrical alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. Author Ramsey discovered a "cache of correspondence and memos-to himself in which Desmond laid out the personal a musical philosophy that created a great modern American musician. This book is the story of a man who was unswerving in his determination to be an individualist in his art, curiously unsure of himself, and adored by his friends."

References

External links

Category:1924 births Category:1977 deaths Category:American jazz alto saxophonists Category:American jazz composers Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:Cool jazz saxophonists Category:Mainstream jazz saxophonists Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:West Coast jazz saxophonists Category:RCA Victor artists