Paul Desmond

• 4 1/2 STARS ALL MUSIC GUIDE

• 180 GRAM HIGH FIDELITY VINYL

When Paul Desmond wanted to create a sequel to the touchstone jazz number Take Five, he did just that with the appropriately titled Take Ten. The title tune from this 1963 recording is a reworking of the classic Take Five theme in 10/8 time. Certainly this should be taken as a hint that it was not Dave Brubeck but Desmond who was the composer of the best selling jazz single of all time.

Paul Desmond and Jim Hall’s collaboration on this quartet project stands as one of the finest recordings either ever produced. Each artist is allowed plenty of breathing room on their respective instrument with their counterpart offering a touch or a texture here and there as the perfect complement. The atmosphere here is rich and relaxed, and this conveys itself to the listener in spades even after half a century

PERSONNEL:

• Paul Desmond - alto sax
• Jim Hall - guitar
• Gene Cherico - bass
• Eugene Wright - bass on A1
• Connie Kay - drums

New York, June 5, 1963

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Take Ten
• A2. El Prince
• A3. Alone Together
• A4. Embarcadero

• SIDE B
• B1. Theme from “Black Orpheus”
• B2. Nancy
• B3. Samba de Orfeu
• B4. The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)