Charlie Parker

LONDON -- An alto saxophone owned by Charlie "Yardbird" Parker brought $140,000 in two minutes yesterday at Christie's auction rooms, more money than "Bird" ever earned in a year, or two, or three, of playing some of the finest solos in the history of jazz.The cream-colored Grafton plastic sax went to the Jazz Hall of Fame in Kansas City and set a new record price for a saxophone.The old record, $33,000, was held by a tenor saxophone played by, get this, Bill Clinton.Charlie Parker, perhaps equaled only by Louis Armstrong as a soloist and as an influence on jazz, was born in Kansas City.

The rarely seen silent film Chicago, a 1927 drama based on the same two murder cases that are at the center of the Oscar-winning musical, will be shown tomorrow at the American Film Institute's Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring. Adapting a 1926 play written by Chicago Tribune crime reporter Maurine Watkins, the film paints a portrait of corruption and opportunism that would be elaborated on by John Kander and Fred Ebb in their 1975 Broadway play. That play, revived on Broadway in 1996, would earn Oscar gold when brought to the big screen six years later.

Until you've actually heard his music, it's almost hard to believe a figure like Charlie Parker ever could have existed. Like Paul Bunyon or Staggerlee, he somehow seems more myth than man. His saga has all the expected elements, from his humble beginnings in prohibition-era Kansas City, to his death, bloated and tragic, in New York at the age of 34, to his deification by generations of jazz fans. "Hero With a Thousand Faces" author Joseph Campbell couldn't have plotted a more perfect path for a jazz hero to walk.

BURBANK, Calif.-- --Forest Whitaker still uses the occasional Britishism, a vestige of his part in Neil Jordan's gender-bender, The Crying Game. If it weren't so emotionally painful to pick up an alto sax, Whitaker could probably revisit Bird with a few jazz blasts from his Charlie Parker past. Ten years from now, he says, he may not be thinking about Panic Room, but he'll probably be able to drill a safe. The research and immersion in character that Whitaker has performed for the various roles he's created -- from the football star in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, to his Private Garlick in Good Morning, Vietnam, to his breakout role channeling Charlie Parker -- have left their traces on his own character, he says.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- You can call Masuhiko Tsuji many things -- businessman, computer wizard, jazz fanatic.But never, ever, call him a sore loser.Two years ago, Tsuji-Bird, as he's known to his friends, bid against Kansas City Mayor Emanuel Cleaver for the Charlie Parker saxophone at auction in London.Kansas City spent $140,000 and won. Mr. Tsuji smoothed his feathers with the purchase of about $9,000 in other Parker memorabilia at the auction. A third bidder also walked away disappointed.

Barney Kessel, 80, a jazz guitarist who performed with Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Art Tatum and backed other music greats, died of brain cancer Thursday at his San Diego home. His early style was heavily influenced by electric guitarist Charlie Christian, but he branched out in his early 20s, working with the big bands of Artie Shaw, Charlie Barnet and Benny Goodman. He was the only white musician in the 1944 jazz film Jammin' the Blues produced by Norman Granz. He served as a music ambassador during the Carter administration, becoming only the third person to be named to that office, along with Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie.

The rarely seen silent film Chicago, a 1927 drama based on the same two murder cases that are at the center of the Oscar-winning musical, will be shown tomorrow at the American Film Institute's Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring. Adapting a 1926 play written by Chicago Tribune crime reporter Maurine Watkins, the film paints a portrait of corruption and opportunism that would be elaborated on by John Kander and Fred Ebb in their 1975 Broadway play. That play, revived on Broadway in 1996, would earn Oscar gold when brought to the big screen six years later.

"Does the name Dean Benedetti mean anything to you?"Unless you're a particularly devoted jazz fan, the answer to that question is likely to be "No." Although Benedetti led what is believed to have been the first be-bop band to spring up in California, a band which at various times included Jimmy Knepper, Russ Freeman and Joe Albany, he himself never made any records. As a result, Benedetti's legacy as a player is mostly anecdotal.Dean Benedetti did make recordings, however -- recordings of Charlie Parker.

BURBANK, Calif.-- --Forest Whitaker still uses the occasional Britishism, a vestige of his part in Neil Jordan's gender-bender, The Crying Game. If it weren't so emotionally painful to pick up an alto sax, Whitaker could probably revisit Bird with a few jazz blasts from his Charlie Parker past. Ten years from now, he says, he may not be thinking about Panic Room, but he'll probably be able to drill a safe. The research and immersion in character that Whitaker has performed for the various roles he's created -- from the football star in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, to his Private Garlick in Good Morning, Vietnam, to his breakout role channeling Charlie Parker -- have left their traces on his own character, he says.

Scholarly conference associated with playGeorge Farquhar's Restoration comedy, "The Beaux' Stratagem," opens Friday on the mainstage of Towson State University's Fine Arts Building, Osler and Cross Campus drives, in conjunction with a conference on the 18th century. Directed by Richard Pilcher, the production will be presented Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m., with performances continuing Nov. 17-20 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8. Call (410) 830-2787.The conference, titled "Order and Disorder in the Eighteenth Century" and sponsored by the East Central/American Society for Restoration Eighteenth-Century Studies, will be held Thursday through Sunday on the TSU campus and will include scholars from across the country.

NEW YORK - There is Charlie Parker's King alto saxophone, with mother-of-pearl keys, his primary horn in the 1950s. There is Benny Goodman's clarinet, John Coltrane's soprano and tenor saxophones, Gerry Mulligan's baritone. Thelonious Monk's tailored jacket. A ribald letter from Louis Armstrong to his manager. One of Ornette Coleman's notebooks from the late 1950s, with his practice exercises and, on one of the last pages, one of his greatest compositions, "Focus on Sanity," written in pencil.

Jane Gray Muskie, 77, whose husband Edmund Muskie's 1972 presidential campaign collapsed after he defended her honor with what appeared to be tears in his eyes, died Saturday at her home in Bethesda. She had Alzheimer's disease. Mrs. Muskie accompanied her husband during his rise in Democratic politics from the Maine Legislature to the governor's house, the U.S. Senate and President Jimmy Carter's Cabinet as secretary of state. Edmund Muskie died of a heart attack in 1996 at age 81. "When you're married to someone who is in political life, you're as much a politician as your spouse," said Edmund Muskie Jr., one of their five children.

Until you've actually heard his music, it's almost hard to believe a figure like Charlie Parker ever could have existed. Like Paul Bunyon or Staggerlee, he somehow seems more myth than man. His saga has all the expected elements, from his humble beginnings in prohibition-era Kansas City, to his death, bloated and tragic, in New York at the age of 34, to his deification by generations of jazz fans. "Hero With a Thousand Faces" author Joseph Campbell couldn't have plotted a more perfect path for a jazz hero to walk.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- You can call Masuhiko Tsuji many things -- businessman, computer wizard, jazz fanatic.But never, ever, call him a sore loser.Two years ago, Tsuji-Bird, as he's known to his friends, bid against Kansas City Mayor Emanuel Cleaver for the Charlie Parker saxophone at auction in London.Kansas City spent $140,000 and won. Mr. Tsuji smoothed his feathers with the purchase of about $9,000 in other Parker memorabilia at the auction. A third bidder also walked away disappointed.

LONDON -- An alto saxophone owned by Charlie "Yardbird" Parker brought $140,000 in two minutes yesterday at Christie's auction rooms, more money than "Bird" ever earned in a year, or two, or three, of playing some of the finest solos in the history of jazz.The cream-colored Grafton plastic sax went to the Jazz Hall of Fame in Kansas City and set a new record price for a saxophone.The old record, $33,000, was held by a tenor saxophone played by, get this, Bill Clinton.Charlie Parker, perhaps equaled only by Louis Armstrong as a soloist and as an influence on jazz, was born in Kansas City.

Scholarly conference associated with playGeorge Farquhar's Restoration comedy, "The Beaux' Stratagem," opens Friday on the mainstage of Towson State University's Fine Arts Building, Osler and Cross Campus drives, in conjunction with a conference on the 18th century. Directed by Richard Pilcher, the production will be presented Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m., with performances continuing Nov. 17-20 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8. Call (410) 830-2787.The conference, titled "Order and Disorder in the Eighteenth Century" and sponsored by the East Central/American Society for Restoration Eighteenth-Century Studies, will be held Thursday through Sunday on the TSU campus and will include scholars from across the country.

NEW YORK - There is Charlie Parker's King alto saxophone, with mother-of-pearl keys, his primary horn in the 1950s. There is Benny Goodman's clarinet, John Coltrane's soprano and tenor saxophones, Gerry Mulligan's baritone. Thelonious Monk's tailored jacket. A ribald letter from Louis Armstrong to his manager. One of Ornette Coleman's notebooks from the late 1950s, with his practice exercises and, on one of the last pages, one of his greatest compositions, "Focus on Sanity," written in pencil.