''First Place Again'' is the second album led by American jazz saxophonist

Paul Desmond Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's biggest hit, " Take Five". He ...

. The album was recorded in September 1959 and released on the Warner Bros. label.Paul Desmond Catalog
accessed February 29, 2016Berry, S

accessed February 29, 2016 It was the first of five studio albums Desmond recorded with quartets that included guitarist Jim Hall and drummer

Connie Kay Conrad Henry Kirnon (April 27, 1927 – November 30, 1994) known professionally as Connie Kay, was an American jazz and R&B drummer, who was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Self-taught on drums, he began performing in Los Angeles in the mid ...

Percy Heath Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet througho ...

, who was Kay's bandmate from the

Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. For most of its history the Quartet consisted of John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphone), Percy H ...

, completed the quartet for this album. For most of August 1959, Hall, Heath, and Kay had been faculty members at the

Lenox School of Jazz The Lenox School of Jazz was a summer programme of jazz education from 1957-1960, at the Music Barn in Lenox, Massachusetts. Faculty included Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Giuffre, Percy Heath, Larry Ridley, Connie Kay, Jim Hall, Ralph Peña, Max Roa ...

music workshop. During that same month, Desmond finished recording

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

with the Dave Brubeck Quartet.

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

awarded the album 3½ stars stating "Desmond, of course, being at that time the king of melodic improvisation on the altowith the possible exception of

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...

's ascendancyis in fine form. His whimsical, breathy, dry tone is sharp, on the spot, and full of ideas as he quotes from a vast number of tunes. This is a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxed set if ultimately unmemorable".

Track listing

# "

I Get a Kick Out of You "I Get a Kick Out of You" is a song by Cole Porter, which was first sung in the 1934 Broadway musical '' Anything Goes'', and then in the 1936 film version. Originally sung by Ethel Merman, it has been covered by dozens of prominent performers, ...

" (

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

) – 8:38 # "

For All We Know For or FOR may refer to: English language *For, a preposition *For, a complementizer *For, a grammatical conjunction Science and technology * Fornax, a constellation * for loop, a programming language statement * Frame of reference, in physics ...

" ( J. Fred Coots, Sam M. Lewis) – 5:33 # "Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West" (

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashvill ...

) – 7:28 # "

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fo ...

" (Traditional) – 2:05 # "

You Go to My Head "You Go to My Head" is a 1938 popular song composed by J. Fred Coots with lyrics by Haven Gillespie. Numerous versions of the song have been recorded, and it has since become a pop and jazz standard. Melody and lyrics Alec Wilder terms Coots' m ...

" (Coots,

Haven Gillespie James Lamont Gillespie (February 6, 1888 – March 14, 1975) pen name Haven Gillespie, was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of " You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", " That Lucky Old Sun", " Bre ...

) – 6:27 # "

East of the Sun (and West of the Moon) "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)" is a popular song written by Brooks Bowman, an undergraduate member of Princeton University's Class of 1936, for the 1934 production of the Princeton Triangle Club's production of Stags at Bay. It was publ ...

" (

Brooks Bowman Brooks Bowman (October 21, 1913 – October 17, 1937) composed the song " East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)" which has become a jazz standard. Biography A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he graduated from University School in that city, but ha ...

) – 5:45 # " Time After Time" (

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became ...

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

) – 6:13 # "Susie" (Paul Desmond) – 3:49 Bonus track on CD reissue

Personnel

– alto saxophone * Jim Hall –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

References

{{Authority control Paul Desmond albums 1959 albums Warner Records albums