Paul Desmond

Biography

The performer and composer known to the world as Paul Desmond was born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, in San Francisco. He changed his name to “Desmond” early in his professional career, claiming that “Breitenfeld” sounded too “Irish.” (This is often taken as an example of his dry wit.) Desmond encountered Dave Brubeck while both men served in the U.S. Army during the Second World War, playing in an Army band at the Presidio. After the war the two men began working together at the Bandbox, a hangout near Palo Alto. It was in association with Brubeck that Desmond achieved his successes. In the 1950s, when Desmond was the alto sax for the Dave Brubeck Quartet, he repeatedly won critics’ polls as the best alto sax in the jazz world. Near the end of the ‘50s, it was Desmond who composed “Take Five,” which became the most successful jazz single in recording history.