1969 · Album
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Recorded 1970 · A&M Records · Produced by Don Sebesky
Desmond Takes Simon and Garfunkel to Work
Desmond turns soft rock ballads into something genuinely cool without making a big deal about it.
By 1970, Paul Desmond had spent most of his career as the alto saxophonist in the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the guy responsible for writing 'Take Five' and playing it a few thousand times. This album, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), is a departure in concept if not in sound — Desmond working through a set of Simon & Garfunkel songs, arranged by Don Sebesky, who had a real gift for giving pop material a jazz context without suffocating it. The result is one of those records that could have gone very wrong and mostly doesn't.
What saves it is that Desmond plays these songs like he actually likes them. His tone is the same cool, slightly airy alto he always used — unhurried, a little dry, never flashy — and Sebesky's arrangements give him room to move without loading everything down with strings and brass. The title track is a good example: it doesn't try to replicate the Simon & Garfunkel version, it just takes the melody somewhere quieter and more conversational. 'The 59th Street Bridge Song' swings more than you'd expect. Not every track is essential, but the overall feel is relaxed and consistent.
This is not a major Desmond record in the way that his collaborations with Brubeck are. It's more of a pleasant side trip — a working musician taking a pop songbook seriously and finding that it holds up reasonably well under jazz treatment. If you already like Desmond's playing, you'll enjoy hearing him apply it to familiar material. If you're new to him, there are better starting points, but this one isn't a bad introduction either.
Who's playing
Where next?
More by Paul Desmond
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The musicians on this record
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Herbie Hancock
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Ron Carter
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