Mastered from the Original Analog Tapes by Grammy Award Winner Bernie Grundman / Pressed at Pallas in Germany

Paul Desmond is known principally for playing alto sax with Dave Brubeck's Quartet from 1951-67, but some of his best work was done in a quartet he fronted with Jim Hall on guitar. They recorded 50 tunes from 1959 to 1965 including classics like "I Get a Kick Out of You," "East of the Sun" and "Take Ten." The latter explores the rhythm of Desmond's gigantic 1959 hit "Take Five" which the DBQ recorded. Desmond also recorded two albums with Gerry Mulligan, and three with Chet Baker. In his last years he led his so-called "Canadian Quartet" with Ed Bickert on guitar, Don Thompson on bass, and Jerry Fuller on drums.

One of the most widely respected and admired jazz musicians of our time, Gerry Mulligan occupies a unique place in the American musical scene. Recognized as an important 20th century composer, arranger, saxophonist, and conductor, he has played a vital role in the history of modern jazz and contemporary music. Mulligan has performed with such jazz immortals as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Lester Young, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Jack Teagarden, Dave Brubeck, and Billie Holliday. He was consistently voted number one in jazz polls around the world and has won a record twenty-nine consecutive Down Beat Readers Poll awards.

"Two of the finest talents to emerge in the post-war jazz generation are brought together here for a happy, informal, yet earnest session of music-making. Individualy, Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan can each look back at a decade of winning jazz polls - Paul as the alto saxophonist of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, and Gerry as a baritone saxophonist who has led his own groups for many years, ranging from a quartet to a full-sized band... A series of sweeping performances in which something exciting is happening every instant, whether it be a solo of keen inventiveness or a duet passage in which each line stands up by itself within a whole that sounds like the work of a craftsman composer." - George Avakian, original album liner notes

Musicians:
Paul Desmond (alto saxophone)
Gerry Mulligan (baritone saxophone)
Wendell Marshall (bass)
Ed Shaughnessy (drums)
Jim Hall (guitar)
Joe Benjamin (bass)
John Beal (bass)
Connie Kay (drums)

Features:
• Mastered from the original analog tapes by Grammy Award winner Bernie Grundman
• Pressed on 180-gram audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas in Germany