A profile on the legendary jazz pianist and his quartet,Paul Desmond,Eugene Wright,and Joe Morello.An episode of The 20th Century.Air date was December 31,1961,and is narrated by Walter Cronkite.
I recorded part of the sound of this off the TV in 1961 and put it on YT in 2010. I've been hoping to see the whole thing again for 50+ years and finally you found it and made it available. Thank you!
That's an incredible piece of music history, so amazing to see and hear Paul Desmond speaking. On camera, so rare and precious document of my music idol. I started long time ago to play alto sax because of him
You and me both, Bro.. in 1959 for me... still playing Alto because of him..very lucky to have Desmond autograph the "Downbeat" mag I took the the NTSU Fall Concert in 1962....miss those times plenty.
Need a reminder about what you might have missed by attending to many pep rallies? A unique mixture of people here did much to contribute to my musical education. A thorough discussion of music becomes an introduction to harmony and chord progressions.
Thank you so much for posting - seeing DBQ work out an arrangement at DB's house, hearing them chat about the group & play in NYC club (+ seeing Paul D in shades) is priceless! 🎶🎹🎷
Watching this again, I find it hilarious that Joe asked Paul if he played nice enough for him. Knowing the context of their relationship, that was brave thing for Joe to do.
i began collecting and hearing this music when my fellow teen-agers were directed to other music in abundance. This group was essential part of my adolescence. The group performed at my university one time when I was preparing for graduation. I met and talked with Eugene Wight once almost by accident. Most rudimentary movement to more advanced music could not have been better.
Thanks for this excellent posting. The video quality is subpar and the volume is a bit low, but the content is rich. I found that turning on closed captions helps. It is a wonderful piece for educational purposes. Cronkite asks the right everyman questions, facilitated this event, and otherwise stays out of the way. Brubeck's comments about improvisation are not new to committed jazz people, but concise educational moments for interested lay people. Rare statements from Desmond, Morello and Wright that are informative. All are dead except Gene, who wears his sunny smile at the ripe age of 94. And, musically interesting.
Sorry, but a slight correction is in order. It was Joe Morello, not Joe Borello. He was a first class drummer who could really improvise. Look for his drum solos on several of the late Dave Brubeck's albums from the sixties.
