Desmond was bor… Read Full Bio ↴Paul Desmond (1924-1977) was a U.S jazz saxophonist.
Desmond was born Paul Emil Breitenfeld in San Francisco, California on 25th November 1924. He came to prominence with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, which lasted from 1951 until 1967. Desmond wrote their biggest hit, "Take Five".
Desmond's alto saxophone tone and technique owed nothing to the great alto player of the time, Charlie Parker; instead his was a clear, light, floating sound and highly melodic playing style. Much of the success of the classic Brubeck quartet was due to the superposition of his fragile, airy sound over Brubeck's sometimes relatively heavy, polytonal piano work.
Desmond died on 30th May 1977.
Paul Desmond is widely recognized for his genius as a melodic improviser and as the benchmark of cool jazz sax players. His warm, elegant tone was one that he admittedly tried to make sound like a dry martini. He and Art Pepper were virtually the only alto players of their generation not directly influenced by Charlie Parker. Desmond was influenced by Lester Young, but took it further, into melodic and harmonic worlds never before traveled by reedmen -- especially in the upper registers. Desmond is best known for his years with the Dave Brubeck Quartet (1959-1967) and his infamous composition "Take Five." He met Brubeck in the late '40s and played with his Octet. The Quartet formed toward the end of 1950 and took final shape with Eugene Wright and Joe Morello a few years later. Jazz at Oberlin and Take Five were considered essential purchases by college students of the era, but Jazz Impressions of Japan was its most innovative recording. Desmond played his loping, slow, ordered, and intricate solos in direct contrast to the pianist's obsession with large chords, creating a myriad of textures for melodic and rhythmic counterpoint unlike any heard in jazz. His witty quotations from musicals, classical pieces, and folk songs were also a watermark of his artistry. When the Quartet split in 1967, Desmond began an intermittent yet satisfying recording career. It included dates with Gerry Mulligan for Verve, various sessions with Jim Hall, and a concert with the the Modern Jazz Quartet. He played his last gigs with the Brubeck Quartet at reunions before dying of lung cancer. Desmond's recordings for RCA have gotten box-set treatment and Mosaic issued one of the complete sessions with Hall. There are also reissues from A&M and CTI, though recordings on Artist House and Finesse remain regrettably out of print. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
Laura
Paul Desmond Lyrics
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Of something that never happened, yet you recall it well
You know the feeling of recognizing someone
That you've never met as far as you could tell, well
Laura is the face in the misty light
Footsteps that you hear down the hall
The laugh that floats on a summer night
And you see Laura on the train that is passing through
Those eyes, how familiar they seem
She gave your very first kiss to you
That was Laura but she's only a dream
The lyrics of Paul Desmond's song "Laura" exude a sense of longing for something ethereal and elusive. The opening lines capture the feeling of reminiscing about something that never really happened or perhaps a dream long forgotten. The nostalgia is palpable as the lyrics continue to describe recognizing someone whom you've never met but feel a strong connection to, possibly hinting at a past life or a soulmate.
The chorus of the song centers around the enigmatic figure of Laura who appears like a fleeting dream. Laura is described as a face in the misty light, footsteps heard down the hall, and a laugh that floats on a summer night, all of which contribute to the hazy, indefinable nature of the song. The singer seems to have a deep emotional attachment to Laura, whom they see in passing on a train and recognize by her familiar eyes. However, the line "she gave your very first kiss to you" implies that Laura is not an actual person but rather a memory or a projection of the singer's subconscious.
The song's themes of longing, memory, and elusive love have made it a jazz standard and a favorite among musicians and listeners alike. Its haunting melody has been covered by numerous artists over the years, cementing its place in the Great American Songbook.
Line by Line Meaning
You know the feeling of something half remembered
That subtle, strange sensation of being capable of recalling fragments or faded memories from an unknown past.
Of something that never happened, yet you recall it well
A remembrance with such acuteness, it almost feels like reality, but in fact, it was never experienced.
You know the feeling of recognizing someone
The incredible feeling of familiarity towards someone that seems familiar, but has never actually met.
That you've never met as far as you could tell, well
Despite the stranger aspect of an individual, a sense of recognition still exists as though that person was once known personally.
Laura is the face in the misty light
The image of Laura, defined by her captivating beauty, creates an air of mystery and undefined quality.
Footsteps that you hear down the hall
The sound of ambiguous, nameless footsteps representing the phantom of an unwelcome unknown presence.
The laugh that floats on a summer night
An ethereal, ghostly laugh flitting around in the memory, possibly drawing up peaceful or joyful emotions with its reminisces.
That you can never quite recall
The details of the past that are always on the edge of the mind, never fully grasped or clearly remembered.
And you see Laura on the train that is passing through
A surreal experience of encountering Laura on a train, as though her image exists in both the waking and dreaming world.
Those eyes, how familiar they seem
The recognition of a familiar face only grows stronger when sensing the gaze of her eyes, without knowing the person at all.
She gave your very first kiss to you
Remembering the first kiss, a significant moment in life, with a dreamy, mysterious, and beautifully inspiring character like Laura.
That was Laura but she's only a dream
A revelation setting in that Laura, an unspecified beauty, exists more as a dream than a person, fading away to become a memory like a dream forgotten upon waking.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: David Raksin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@pedronunez4507
Es una de las mejores versiones de Laura. Gloria y descanso eterno para Brubeck y los grandes que han actuado con el. Saludos desde España.
@sinprelic
i love it how on every single dave brubeck (quartet) video, everyone is mentioning how this is the most enchanting and beautiful music they have heard. it's a great feeling to know that this artist not only performed some good songs, but that his entire career and discography were one big artistic WIN.
@reeltapegone2823
One of my favorite Brubeck "pieces"...still give me chills !!
@bertdorf4
I live approximately 6 blocks from College of the Pacific, of which is now Named University of the Pacific. I've grown up around the Brubeck Institute, and what they have done for jazz musicians is just so immense. Brubeck is a major influence on us jazz musicians, and its a sad time around town, since his passing. We're having a memorial concert for him soon. May the legendary Dave Brubeck forever rest in peace and in music.
@27sepulchre
First time I've heard this, what an amazing interpretation, I'm a teenager again and that's about fifty years ago!
@elzbietaszeib8194
Ku pamięci Dave'a, szkoda że już go nie ma!
@omaraaron6973
Música perfecta para una noche oscura, viendo las calles moribundas y tristes de Lima o cualquier otro lugar, a cualquier hora, pero que sea con jazz, y con jazz del bueno.
@jazz4asahel
Now is the time to truly enjoy what Brubeck crafted in 1953. Safely said that in another hundred years this will be classical instruction.
@kocn53
Agreed. I don't know a lot about music, but I do know that Dave could and often did play in two keys at once. That gave the unique sound he had which no one else has ever quite duplicated. I wonder, if someone very musically knowledgeable but knowing nothing about Brubeck, looking at a transcription of a solo like that, could see what he was doing, or if it would just look like strange harmonies? BTW, graduate students have been doing theses on Paul Desmond solos for years. The way he could improvise was phenomenal. That team of Dave & Paul was a uniquely American phenomenon, the likes of which will never be equaled IMO.
@lauraprince1310
OMG, the song I was named after...not just Laura, but this, the most beautiful version ever...