Paul Desmond "Easy Living" 1966

As the Paul Desmond / Jim Hall quartet's recording activities gradually came to a halt by 1965, RCA Victor assembled the remains of a number of their later sessions into one last album……These are anything but leftovers, however -- indeed, they constitute the best Desmond / Hall album since Take Ten, more varied in texture and mood, and by and large more inspired in solo content, than Bossa Antigua and Glad to Be Unhappy. As a near-ideal example of this collaboration at its intuitive peak, "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" opens with Hall paraphrasing the tune, and Desmond comes in on the bridge with a perfectly timed rejoinder that sounds as if he's asking a question. "Here's That Rainy Day" is another apt match of a standard to Desmond's sophisticated personality; he is at his dry, jaunty best on the uptempo "That Old Feeling"; and both have a ball jamming on the blues in Desmond's wry, quick "Blues for Fun." [Some reissues add a pair of outtakes, plus "Rude Old Man."] - AllMusic Review by Richard S. Ginell

trax:
01 When Joanna Loved Me 02 That Old Feeling 03 Polka Dots and Moonbeams 04 Here's That Rainy Day 05 Easy Living 06 I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face 07 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered 08 Blues for Fun 09 Rude Old Man 10 Polka Dots and Moonbeams (Alternate Take) 11 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (Alternate Take)

This music is dedicated to the tradition of Johnny Diego's Rock 'n' Roll Free Sunday!