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
The Theme from Black Orpheus
Paul Desmond Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Es ir sin rumbo fijo
Refugiarse como un niño
En los brazos de la soledad
Regresar sin ella es
Tan delirante,
Tan nocivo tan frustrante
Es como tener las manos
Llenas de ella
De sus risa, sus caderas
Y saber que ella no esta
Es como sentarse a deshojar estrellas
Bajo una luna nueva
A través del ventanal
Vivir sin ella es estar
Encadenado a ese cuerpo
Que yo amo, es temerle a la soledad
Vivir sin ella es rendirse a cada instante
Es caer, es levantarse y de por ella comenzar
Esto no es normal
Es querer volar
A donde ella esta
Esto no es normal
Es querer volar
A donde ella esta
La noche sin ella es
Un trago amargo
Es mirar el calendario
Es llorar, amigos es llorar
Es como tener las manos
Llenas de ella
De sus manos, sus caderas
Y saber que ella no esta
Es como sentarse a deshojar estrellas
Bajo una luna nueva
A través del ventanal
Vivir sin ella es estar
Encadenado a ese cuerpo
Que yo amo, es temerle a la soledad
Vivir sin ella es rendirse a cada instante
Es caer, es levantarse y de por ella comenzar
Vivir sin ella es estar
Encadenado a ese cuerpo
Que yo amo, es temerle a la soledad
Vivir sin ella es rendirse a cada instante
Es caer, es levantarse y de por ella comenzar
Vivir sin ella es estar
Encadenado a ese cuerpo
Yo no se lo que es vivir sin ella
Yo no se lo que es vivir
Con mi soledad que ahoga
Yo no se lo que es vivir sin ella
Yo no se lo que es vivir
Y se me hacen mas largas las horas
Sin su presencia
Yo no se lo que es vivir sin ella
Yo no se lo que es vivir
Todo me recuerda a ella
Esa canción de la radio
La foto sobre la mesa
Yo no se lo que es vivir sin ella
Yo no se lo que es vivir
Me domina la tristeza
Si no esta ella
The song "The Theme from Black Orpheus" by Paul Desmond talks about the pain of living a life without one's loved one. The lyrics portray a sense of emptiness, loneliness, and despair that one feels when separated from the person they love the most. The song illustrates how every aspect of life becomes meaningless and dark when someone is not with the person they love. The singer compares living without his lover to walking without a specific direction, seeking refuge in his loneliness, and being chained to his body, which he loves but also fears due to the burden of solitude.
The lyrics further emphasize the inability to cope with the absence of a loved one, where even simple things like listening to a song or looking at a picture remind them of their lover. The song's tone is melancholic and reflective of the struggle of living without a purpose and the constant battle between surrendering to the pain or fighting to survive. The song ends with the singer confessing that he does not know what it means to live without the person he loves, implying that the pain of separation is too unbearable to even imagine.
Line by Line Meaning
Caminar sin ella,
Es ir sin rumbo fijo
Walking without her is like wandering aimlessly.
Refugiarse como un niño
En los brazos de la soledad
Taking refuge, like a child seeking comfort, in the arms of solitude.
Regresar sin ella es
Tan delirante,
Tan nocivo tan frustrante
Que a la casa no quiero llegar
Returning without her is so delirious, harmful and frustrating that one doesn't want to come home.
Es como tener las manos
Llenas de ella
De sus risa, sus caderas
Y saber que ella no esta
It's like holding onto her laughter and hips with hands full of her, but knowing she's not there.
Es como sentarse a deshojar estrellas
Bajo una luna nueva
A través del ventanal
It's like sitting by the window, under a new moon, picking apart the stars.
Vivir sin ella es estar
Encadenado a ese cuerpo
Que yo amo, es temerle a la soledad
Living without her is being chained to the body I love, while fearing solitude.
Vivir sin ella es rendirse a cada instante
Es caer, es levantarse y de por ella comenzar
Living without her is surrendering to every moment, falling and rising, and starting again for her.
La noche sin ella es
Un trago amargo
Es mirar el calendario
Es llorar, amigos es llorar
The night without her is a bitter drink, checking the calendar and crying, my friends, crying.
Yo no se lo que es vivir sin ella
Yo no se lo que es vivir
Con mi soledad que ahoga
I don't know what it's like to live without her, nor do I know what it's like to live with my suffocating solitude.
Yo no se lo que es vivir sin ella
Yo no se lo que es vivir
Y se me hacen mas largas las horas
Sin su presencia
I don't know what it's like to live without her, and the hours seem longer without her presence.
Todo me recuerda a ella
Esa canción de la radio
La foto sobre la mesa
Everything reminds me of her, the song on the radio, the photo on the table.
Me domina la tristeza
Si no esta ella
Sadness dominates me if she's not there.
Esto no es normal
Es querer volar
A donde ella esta
This isn't normal, it's wanting to fly wherever she is.
Vivir sin ella es estar
Encadenado a ese cuerpo
Living without her is being chained to this body.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LUIZ BONFA, ANTONIO MARIA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@drmichaelshea
I adored Paul Desmond when I was 14 years old, and I still do at age 70. No one could ever make the alto sax sing the way Paul Desmond did. He was a master. I had the good fortune a kid to meet Joe Morello who offered to introduce me to Desmond, but Desmond died of lung cancer before it could happen. Fabulous musicians.
@lou-nc4rc
he said he wanted his playing to sound like a dry martini, but I thought there was too much sweetness in it to be called that
@drmichaelshea
@@lou-nc4rc I had long since forgotten that until you reminded me. I’ve never had a martini in my life, so I wouldn’t really understand the simile. I agree with your assessment, though. The sounds he made with that instrument were unique and wonderful.
@vladimirshagoyan4775
There's something so velvety smooth about Paul Desmond's music.
@SubhanManafzade
Velvety. Exactly!
@AleXDtmp
Desmond’s phrasing is just incredible
@classified9668
You're like that dude that people think they've met before
@caspervanhelvoirt9460
Came here for the Minor 6th, stayed here for the music lol
@dakaredixon-essien6458
+Casper van Helvoirt Haha came here for the same reason.
@subfragment
Minor sixth is so diatonic if you think about it's harmonic function in relationship to tonic and dominant 7 chord