CD Cover: The Desmond Project The Desmond Project

    FROM THE LINER NOTES:
    In the early 1960s, when jazz was becoming angrier and more dissonant, Paul Desmond teamed with Jim Hall for a series of albums that helped calm things down. They took mostly standards and turned them into cozy dialogues for sax and guitar, with the bass and brushes commenting discreetly. Desmond's cool, feathery alto placed every note with care; likewise, much of Hall's eloquence came in what he chose to leave out. This was midnight jazz when the rest of the world has gone to sleep and even the smallest sounds can be heard.

    Guitarist John Basile heard these albums years after they were made, and they forever changed his conception of jazz. "Compared to most guys, Jim and Paul used a lot fewer notes to get the same emotional and musical ideas across," he says. "That's so hard to do, but to me it's the ultimate in maturity. When I hear them play, I'm never aware of technique, only the music. I think that what they did should be acknowledged."

    Hence this disc, the first recorded tribute to Desmond and his collaborations with Hall and, in the '70s, guitarist Ed Bickert.
    -- James Gavin

    The John Basile Quartet
    The Desmond Project
    Recorded November 26-28, 1996, St. Peter's Episcopal Church, N.Y.C.
    Chesky Records - JD156

    1. Desmond Blue (Paul Desmond) 4:18
    2. Line for Lyons (Gerry Mulligan) 3:58
    3. You Go to My Head (Haven Gillespie-Fred Coots) 5:17
    4. Darn That Dream (Jimmy Van Heusen-Eddie De Lange) 5:36
    5. For All We Know (Fred Coots-Sam Lewis) 5:27
    6. East of the Sun (Bowman Brooks) 4:18
    7. My Funny Valentine (Richard Rodgers-Hart Lorenz) 6:08
    8. Wendy (Paul Desmond) 4:42
    9. Alone Together (Arthur Schwartz-Howard Dietz) 4:39
    10. Warm Valley (Duke Ellington) 5:50
    11. In Your Own Sweet Way (Dave Brubeck) 5:25
    12. Take Five (Paul Desmond) 3:03

    John Basile/Guitar
    Payton Crossley/Drums
    David Finck/Bass
    Allen Mezquida/Alto Saxophone
    Producers: David Finck & David Chesky


    Available from:
    Chesky Records,
    355 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019
    Phone: 1-800-426-8576 or 212-586-7799
    Fax: 212-262-0814
    Internet: http://www.chesky.com or cheskyinv@aol.com

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