Dave Brubeck had the good fortune to meet up with Paul early on, and over the course of several encounters, they teamed up, notably in the Dave Brubeck Octet, and famously, in the Dave Brubeck Quartet, in which Paul produced some of his best playing. Brubeck's relentless and somewhat maniacal approach to the piano proved a perfect complement to Desmond's airy solos, the combination creating a unique texture to the quartet's music that became its signature. Both Brubeck and Desmond were deeply creative in the quartet, as can be heard in many of the cuts from "Jazz Impressions of Japan" and "Jazz at College of the Pacific," as well as the infamous "Time Out." My alltime favorite of their recordings, however, is "Jazz at Oberlin," wherein Paul makes "How High the Moon" sound like he's been there to tell.

Paul Desmond also had a wonderful sense of humor and liked to write. His accounts of road trips kept his friends and fellow musicians in stitches, and many believed he would have a second career in writing, although, sadly, his premature death from lung cancer preempted that. One of his accounts did get published, however, in Punch, in 1973.

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