Watch Paul Desmond with Ed Bickert on CBC-TV's Take 30 in 1975

Watch saxophone great Paul Desmond perform with Ed Bickert, Don Thompson and Jerry Fuller on Take 30 with hosts Paul Soles and Mary Lou Finlay.

Paul Desmond with Ed Bickert, Don Thompson & Jerry Fuller on Take 30

Shot for CBC-TV's long-running news and entertainment program Take 30 in the fall of 1975, this rare performance and interview footage of alto saxophonist Paul Desmond – who composed the jazz standard "Take Five" while a member of  the Dave Brubeck Quartet and played the unforgettable saxophone part on the band's classic 1959 recording for the album of the same name – features an all-star support cast of Toronto-based musicians, including guitarist Ed Bickert, bassist Don Thompson and drummer Jerry Fuller.  

Not only is the clip a rare CBC-TV document of Canadian jazz aces at their peak, it's also historically important for capturing Desmond in action,  commanding as ever, less than two years prior to his death from lung cancer on May 30, 1977 at the age of 52. Desmond, who was a chain-smoker and known to enjoy a tipple as well, maintained his famously dry sense of humour even in the darkest moments. Upon receiving his terminal diagnosis, Desmond responded that he was delighted to hear that his liver was in tip-top condition. Unfortunately, the footage isn't the best quality but until the CBC does a proper release of the Take 30 broadcast from '75,  a rough video transfer will have to suffice.