Paul Desmond

Paul Desmond was an American jazz alto saxophonist born in San Francisco in 1924 who began his professional career in the 1940s and became associated with the cool jazz movement. Characterised by a light, lyrical tone and melodic improvisational style, his recordings with small groups and larger ensembles helped articulate the melodic, contrapuntal approach associated with West Coast cool jazz and influenced subsequent generations of saxophonists.