would go to the Red Cross following his death. Desmond reportedly owned a Baldwin grand piano, which he lent to Bradley Cunningham, owner of Bradley's piano bar in Greenwich Village, provided that Cunningham moved the large piano back to Desmond's Upper West Side apartment to become part of Desmond's estate. After this long and expensive process, Desmond willed the piano to Cunningham, a characteristic and final prank. The Paul Desmond Papers are held at the Holt-Atherton Special Collections in the University of the Pacific Library. Desmond was cremated and his ashes were scattered. Style Desmond produced a light, melodic tone on the alto saxophone, trying to sound, he said, "like a dry martini." With a style that was similar to that of Lee Konitz, one of his influences, he quickly became one of the best-known saxophonists from the West Coast's cool school of jazz. Much of the success of the classic Brubeck quartet was due to the juxtaposition of his airy style over Brubeck's sometimes relatively heavy, polytonal piano work. Desmond's improvisation is praised for its logical structure and lyricism. His rare gift for improvised counterpoint is perhaps most evident on the two albums he recorded with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan (Mulligan-Desmond Quartet and Two of a Mind). In his playing Desmond was also notable for his ability to produce extremely high notes, the altissimo register, on his saxophone. Desmond played a Selmer Super Balanced Action model alto saxophone coupled with an M. C. Gregory model 4A-18M hard rubber mouthpiece, both dating from circa 1951, with a moderately stiff Rico 3 ½ reed. Discography With Dave Brubeck As bandleader With Gerry Mulligan With Chet Baker Other References 1924 births 1977 deaths American people of Czech-Jewish descent American people of Irish descent American jazz alto saxophonists American male saxophonists United States Army personnel of World War II Cool jazz saxophonists Mainstream jazz saxophonists Composers from San Francisco West Coast jazz saxophonists RCA Victor artists United States Army soldiers Jazz musicians from San Francisco Jazz alto saxophonists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American saxophonists Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) United States Army Band musicians Bebop saxophonists San Francisco State University alumni American male jazz composers American jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians Dave Brubeck Quartet members 20th-century jazz composers CTI Records artists