Doug Ramsey: Rifftides

Doug Ramsey is a broadcast and print journalist with an extensive background in jazz writing. He is the author of several books, including Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond, for which he won an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award. He has contributed to JazzTimes since 1975 and, before that, wrote regularly for Down Beat. He now runs the excellent jazz blog Rifftides. In this interview, Ramsey talks about Paul Desmond, the role of the jazz writer, and enjoyment in lieu of money.