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Complete Albums Collection: 1953-1963

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4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 245 ratings
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Audio CD, Import, June 15, 2018
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Editorial Reviews

Best known as a member of Dave Brubeck's legendary quartet and the man who wrote the biggest-selling jazz single ever, 'Take Five', Paul Desmond's importance as a jazz performer cannot be underestimated. A master of the alto saxophone as well as a consummate composer and musician, Desmond was a pivotal figure on the West Coast cool jazz scene. His time with Brubeck produced some of the most critically-acclaimed recordings in history, in particular the magnificent Time Out (Columbia, 1959). However, Desmond was also an accomplished bandleader in his own right, with the material released during the early part of his career remaining among his finest work. Paul Desmond remained active throughout the rest of his career, producing a multitude of albums and performing live with Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Jim Hall, Ed Bickert and The Modern Jazz Quartet among others. Sadly, his career was cut short, following a diagnosis of terminal lung cancer in the mid '70s. He gave his final performance in New York in February 1977, and passed away on 30th May that year at the age of 52. One of his final studio appearances was on Art Garfunkel's Watermark album. This collection brings together the entirety of Paul Desmond's output as leader or co-leader between 1953 and 1963, a catalogue totaling more than five hours of music, presented here across four discs. Collating nine original albums, this set serves as the perfect introduction to this master musician and composer, as well as providing a welcome reminder to those already versed in the great man's work.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 5.08 x 1.1 inches; 7.48 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Enlightenment
  • Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 2018
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ April 17, 2018
  • Label ‏ : ‎ Enlightenment
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07C5K7QD9
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Canada
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 4
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 245 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
245 global ratings
Urbane
5 Stars
Urbane
"Urbane." That's the word often used to describe Paul Desmond while he was still alive and active (from the early 1950's until his death in 1977), both as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and on his own. Desmond had an unusual contract with Brubeck that allowed him to make solo recordings but NOT to use Brubeck's instrument, piano, on them. So he compromised with inventive arrangements and first-rate guitar players (Barney Kessel on his first solo LP, later Jim Hall for a long series of releases on Warner Bros. and RCA Victor, some of which are included here) to provide the chordal support most jazz horn players got from pianists. This gives some of Desmond's 1960's recordings — including "Take Ten," the last album included here — a surprisingly modern sound.I've known and loved some of these records for many years. Desmond's first solo LP was a 1954 release on Fantasy Records (pressed on their trademark red translucent vinyl, though my LP copy was a 12-inch reissue with Gerry Mulligan's and Chet Baker's Fantasy recordings on the other side) that featured four pieces by Desmond's friend, tenor saxophonist and composer Dave Van Kreidt, with a front line of Desmond, Van Kreidt and trumpeter Dick Collins; and four tracks with backing vocals by the Bill Bates Singers. (This album has a "Star Trek" connection: one of the Bill Bates Singers was Loulie Jean Norman, who a decade later sang the wordless "vapor voice" part on the opening theme of the original "Star Trek" TV series.) I also previously had CD's of the two albums Desmond made with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan (also well known for not using piano in his groups) and "Take Ten," and I had a couple of isolated tracks ("At a Perfume Counter" with Brubeck and "Sacre Blues," also known as "Purple Moon") on a cheap LP from a no-name label that somehow got hold of the tracks.The Desmond collection gets off to a slow start with a jam session with Brubeck originally issued by Fantasy under both their names. It was recorded before the start of a performance at George Wein's Storyville nightclub in Boston in 1953 and it's surprisingly dull, probably because the two musicians were still warming up. Things get better with "At a Perfume Counter" and two other early Brubeck-Desmond performances (Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" and an original called "Crazy Chris" because it was based on Fletcher Henderson's "Christopher Columbus"). and they get even better when we get to Desmond's first solo recordings at the end of disc one (including an odd track from the Van Kreidt session, "Warm Cradle," that wasn't on my LP).And they get even better on CD 2, where we get the album Desmond recorded in 1956 with brass player Don Elliott. For years I've listened to "Sacre Blues" (called that because it's based on the opening theme of Igor Stravinsky's ballet "Le Sacre du Printemps," or "The Rite of Spring") with no idea what instrument the brass player was playing. I couldn't decide whether it was a valve trombone or a French horn, and it turns out it was neither: it was mellophone, an instrument designed to substitute for French horn in marching bands, whose advantages are it uses trumpet-style piston valves rather than the rotary valves of a French horn, and its bell points forward instead of to the side. Elliott begins one song here, "You Go to My Head," on trumpet, but otherwise uses the mellophone exclusively and really knows his way around this odd instrument.Paul Desmond was to Charlie Parker was Bix Beiderbecke was to Louis Armstrong, or Lester Young to Coleman Hawkins. Armstrong, Hawkins and Parker were loud, aggressive musicians who dominated their surroundings with volume, power and Big Emotional Statements. Beiderbecke, Young and Desmond were quieter, more gentle, more lyrical and proved that jazz could swing in a subtle, laid-back way and still be infectious and moving. In 1959 Desmond recorded one of his original compositions, "Take Five," with the Brubeck Quartet and had the best-selling instrumental jazz single of all time — and the piece was in 5/4 time (hence the title) and finally broke jazz from the strait-jacket of strict 4/4 time it had inherited from its marching-band origins. "Take Five" isn't here but Desmond's solo follow-up, "Take Ten," is, and it and the album it's from are a fitting capstone to almost six hours of lovely, subtle music by one of the jazz giants.My only quibbles with this set are technical. Two of the discs run over 80 minutes (and some players may have problems with them) and the last disc on my copy glitched out and stopped playing towards the end. (Fortunately, I already had the "Take Ten" album on a CD of its own.) But this is still great music. My copy happened to arrive on a particularly stressful week for me -- and Desmond's lovely music helped me get over the stress.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2020
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5.0 out of 5 stars Urbane
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2020
"Urbane." That's the word often used to describe Paul Desmond while he was still alive and active (from the early 1950's until his death in 1977), both as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and on his own. Desmond had an unusual contract with Brubeck that allowed him to make solo recordings but NOT to use Brubeck's instrument, piano, on them. So he compromised with inventive arrangements and first-rate guitar players (Barney Kessel on his first solo LP, later Jim Hall for a long series of releases on Warner Bros. and RCA Victor, some of which are included here) to provide the chordal support most jazz horn players got from pianists. This gives some of Desmond's 1960's recordings — including "Take Ten," the last album included here — a surprisingly modern sound.

I've known and loved some of these records for many years. Desmond's first solo LP was a 1954 release on Fantasy Records (pressed on their trademark red translucent vinyl, though my LP copy was a 12-inch reissue with Gerry Mulligan's and Chet Baker's Fantasy recordings on the other side) that featured four pieces by Desmond's friend, tenor saxophonist and composer Dave Van Kreidt, with a front line of Desmond, Van Kreidt and trumpeter Dick Collins; and four tracks with backing vocals by the Bill Bates Singers. (This album has a "Star Trek" connection: one of the Bill Bates Singers was Loulie Jean Norman, who a decade later sang the wordless "vapor voice" part on the opening theme of the original "Star Trek" TV series.) I also previously had CD's of the two albums Desmond made with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan (also well known for not using piano in his groups) and "Take Ten," and I had a couple of isolated tracks ("At a Perfume Counter" with Brubeck and "Sacre Blues," also known as "Purple Moon") on a cheap LP from a no-name label that somehow got hold of the tracks.

The Desmond collection gets off to a slow start with a jam session with Brubeck originally issued by Fantasy under both their names. It was recorded before the start of a performance at George Wein's Storyville nightclub in Boston in 1953 and it's surprisingly dull, probably because the two musicians were still warming up. Things get better with "At a Perfume Counter" and two other early Brubeck-Desmond performances (Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" and an original called "Crazy Chris" because it was based on Fletcher Henderson's "Christopher Columbus"). and they get even better when we get to Desmond's first solo recordings at the end of disc one (including an odd track from the Van Kreidt session, "Warm Cradle," that wasn't on my LP).

And they get even better on CD 2, where we get the album Desmond recorded in 1956 with brass player Don Elliott. For years I've listened to "Sacre Blues" (called that because it's based on the opening theme of Igor Stravinsky's ballet "Le Sacre du Printemps," or "The Rite of Spring") with no idea what instrument the brass player was playing. I couldn't decide whether it was a valve trombone or a French horn, and it turns out it was neither: it was mellophone, an instrument designed to substitute for French horn in marching bands, whose advantages are it uses trumpet-style piston valves rather than the rotary valves of a French horn, and its bell points forward instead of to the side. Elliott begins one song here, "You Go to My Head," on trumpet, but otherwise uses the mellophone exclusively and really knows his way around this odd instrument.

Paul Desmond was to Charlie Parker was Bix Beiderbecke was to Louis Armstrong, or Lester Young to Coleman Hawkins. Armstrong, Hawkins and Parker were loud, aggressive musicians who dominated their surroundings with volume, power and Big Emotional Statements. Beiderbecke, Young and Desmond were quieter, more gentle, more lyrical and proved that jazz could swing in a subtle, laid-back way and still be infectious and moving. In 1959 Desmond recorded one of his original compositions, "Take Five," with the Brubeck Quartet and had the best-selling instrumental jazz single of all time — and the piece was in 5/4 time (hence the title) and finally broke jazz from the strait-jacket of strict 4/4 time it had inherited from its marching-band origins. "Take Five" isn't here but Desmond's solo follow-up, "Take Ten," is, and it and the album it's from are a fitting capstone to almost six hours of lovely, subtle music by one of the jazz giants.

My only quibbles with this set are technical. Two of the discs run over 80 minutes (and some players may have problems with them) and the last disc on my copy glitched out and stopped playing towards the end. (Fortunately, I already had the "Take Ten" album on a CD of its own.) But this is still great music. My copy happened to arrive on a particularly stressful week for me -- and Desmond's lovely music helped me get over the stress.
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Top reviews from other countries

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MICHAEL MILNE
5.0 out of 5 stars Some of his best work.
Reviewed in Canada on September 23, 2021
Peter Kuhn
5.0 out of 5 stars Schnell unfd gut
Reviewed in Germany on August 11, 2023
Rober
3.0 out of 5 stars Es bueno!
Reviewed in Mexico on December 7, 2019
Juan
5.0 out of 5 stars El sonido de Desmond
Reviewed in Spain on July 25, 2020
Kenneth J. Morris
5.0 out of 5 stars The development of a master jazz improvisor.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2019
3 people found this helpful
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