Editing Paul Desmond (section)

==Early life==
Desmond was born Paul Emil Breitenfeld in [[San Francisco]], [[California]], in 1924, the son of Shirley (née King) and Emil Aron Breitenfeld.<ref name="Ramsey no page">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eCwIAQAAMAAJ&q=father+Emil+Breitenfeld|title=Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond|isbn=9780961726676|last1=Ramsey|first1=Doug|year=2005|publisher=Parkside Publications }}</ref> His grandfather Sigmund Breitenfeld, a medical doctor, was born on 17 November 1857,<ref>"United States Aufzeichnungen," Aufnahmen, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9M8-KW4J?view=index : 4. Nov. 2024), Aufnahme 399 von 875; New York. County Court (New York County).</ref> in [[Česká Kamenice]] in [[Bohemia]] in 1857; he emigrated to the US in 1885<ref>"United States Census, 1900", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSKX-RJQ : Thu Apr 11 19:59:07 UTC 2024), Entry for Sigmund Breitenfeld and Hermina Breitenfeld, 1900.</ref> and on 2 May 1886, in New York, married Hermina Lewy.<ref>"New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:243M-MV8 : Tue Feb 20 18:48:39 UTC 2024), Entry for Sigmund Breitenfeld and Hermina Levy, 2 May 1886.</ref> They had four children (including Emil, father of Paul Emil). Paul Desmond and members of his father's family "frequently speculated as to whether Sigmund or Hermine Breitenfeld had Jewish backgrounds", but they did not identify as Jewish, or observe Jewish traditions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ramsey|first=Doug|date=2004|title=Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond|location=Seattle, Wa.|publisher=Parkside Publications|isbn=978-0961726676}}</ref> However, [[Fred Barton (composer)|Fred Barton]], songwriter/arranger and Desmond's cousin, found extensive genealogical proof that both the Breitenfeld and Löwy families were [[History of the Jews in the Czech lands|Bohemian Jews]]. The Breitenfeld family in [[Bohemia]] and [[Vienna]] featured musicians in every generation throughout the 1800s, 1900s, and to the present day. Desmond's mother, born Shirley King, was of an [[Irish Catholics|Irish Catholic]] family.<ref name="Ramsey no page"/>

Desmond's father Emil Breitenfeld was a pianist, organist, arranger, and composer who accompanied silent films in movie theaters and produced musical arrangements for printed publication and for live theatrical productions. During [[World War I]], while training with the 17th New York Regiment in [[Plattsburgh (town), New York|Plattsburgh, New York]], he composed ''[[The Last Long Mile]]'', one of the best-known soldiers' songs of that war.<ref>The Singing Program of World War I: The Crusade for a Singing Army Author(s): E. Christina Chang Source: Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Oct., 2001), pp. 19-45 Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.</ref>

Desmond's mother Shirley was emotionally unstable throughout his upbringing, and appears to have suffered from [[obsessive–compulsive disorder]] and other mental illnesses.<ref name="Ramsey no page"/> Starting in 1933, Desmond spent nearly five years living with relatives in [[New Rochelle, New York]] due to his mother's mental health problems.

Desmond began playing the
[[clarinet]] at age twelve, and continued throughout his time at [[San Francisco Polytechnic High School]]. While in high school, Desmond wanted to study the [[violin]], but his father dissuaded him, saying that violin players were "a dime a dozen....with the violin, you'll starve."<ref name="Ramsey no page"/> Desmond developed a talent for writing during high school as well, becoming co-editor of his high school newspaper. In that capacity, he interviewed comedian [[Bob Hope]] for his school newspaper during one of Hope's visits to San Francisco. After high school, Desmond enrolled at [[San Francisco State University|San Francisco State College]] where he majored in [[English studies|English]]. While in college, Desmond began playing the [[alto saxophone]], after being influenced by the likes of [[Lester Young]] and [[Charlie Parker]]. In his first year of college, Desmond was drafted into the [[United States Army]] and joined the Army band while stationed in San Francisco. He spent three years in the military, but his unit was not called to combat.<ref name="doyle">{{cite book|last=Doyle|first=Brian|title=Spirited Men: Story, Soul, and Substance|publisher=[[Cowley Publications]]|year=2004|pages=73–74|isbn=1-56101-258-0}}</ref>

Following his military discharge, Paul Emil Breitenfeld legally changed his last name from Breitenfeld to Desmond in 1946. He told many stories over the years regarding how he chose the name Desmond, but his biographer Doug Ramsey offers an account from Desmond's friend Hal Strack that the two were listening to the [[Glenn Miller]] band singer [[Johnny Desmond]] in 1942, and Desmond told Strack "that's such a great name. It's so smooth and yet it's uncommon....If I ever decide I need another name, it's going to be Desmond."<ref name="Ramsey no page"/>

Desmond was married from 1947 to 1949 to Duane Reeves Lamon.<ref>Born 30 August 1927 in Los Angeles. Later married Willis Dean Kaye (died 1986); they had one child, Christopher (1956-2014). She died in 2013. [https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/duane-reeves-lamon-24-2mvqlx "Duane Reeves LaMon"]</ref> He never remarried.<ref name="Ramsey no page"/>