Paul Desmond - Take Ten / Speakers Corner

No, not "Take Five" but "Take Ten" is the title of this LP and its very first number. Certainly this should be taken as a hint that it was not Dave Brubeck but Paul Desmond who was

the composer of this 'million seller'. At the recording session, the guitarist Jim Hall was more than a substitute for the piano - he contributed to the quartet a whole new sound colouring

which was tinged with the influences of bossa nova.

The numbers are all easy-going and airy, the melodic lines and sound are filled with transparency. All the while one is curious as to the clear part-writing, and the wealth of ideas emanating

from the soloists. This does not only apply to the old favourites "Alone Together", "Nancy" and "The One I Love", all three of them arrangements made ad hoc in the studio and which demonstrate

how familiar the musicians were with one another, how they listened to one another, answered, and kept the dialogue flowing. The atmosphere is relaxed, and this conveys itself to the listener even after almost half a century.

RCA’s recording and reproduction technology was ahead of its time. The music of these South-American-sounding gems comes out of the loudspeakers with brilliance, clarity and - at last - without the frustrating crackle of a second-hand LP.

Paul Desmond (as); Jim Hall (g); Gene Cherico, Gene Wright (b); Connie Kay (dr)

Recording: 1963 in Webster Hall, New York, by Ray Hall

Production: George Avakian

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under www.pure-analogue.com. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

We recommend the use of "L'Art du Son" LP cleaner to wet wash your vinyl. Even new records of high quality production will benefit from this.

Title

Side One

1. Take Ten

2. El Prince

3. Alone Together

4. Embarcadero

Side Two

1. Theme From "Black Orpheus"

2. Nancy

3. Samba De Orfeu

4. The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else)