Paul Desmond

 Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; 25 November 1924 – 30 May 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer born in San Francisco, best known as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for writing "Take Five".

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 * I could only write at the beach, and I kept getting sand in my typewriter.
 * His reason for not pursuing a literary career


 * I hate the way he writes. I kind of love the way he lives, though.
 * On writer Jack Kerouac


 * I have won several prizes as the world’s slowest alto player, as well as a special award in 1961 for quietness.


 * I think I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to sound like a dry martini.
 * About his distinctive light sound


 * I tried practicing for a few weeks and ended up playing too fast.
 * About the value of practice


 * I was unfashionable before anyone knew who I was.
 * About his playing style


 * It's like living in a house where everything's painted red.
 * On Ornette Coleman's playing


 * Not for me. If I want to tune everybody out, I just take off my glasses and enjoy the haze.
 * On contact lenses


 * Sometimes I get the feeling that there are orgies going on all over New York City, and somebody says, `Let's call Desmond,' and somebody else says,'Why bother? He's probably home reading the Encyclopedia Britannica.'


 * Well, that I'm not playing better.
 * When asked by Gene Lees what accounted for the melancholy in his playing


 * Writing is like jazz. It can be learned, but it can’t be taught.


 * You're beginning to sound like a cross between David Frost and David Susskind, and that is a cross I cannot bear.
 * His response to the annoying banality of an interviewer