Just in case you have lost track of the famous white plastic Grafton alto saxophone that Charlie Parker played for a time, here’s a reminder. The horn, actually cream-colored and made of acrylic, was among items sold at Christie’s in London when the Chan Parker Collection was auctioned in 1994. Chan, never legally Parker’s wife, was the mother of two of his children and inherited most of his possessions when he died in March, 1955.
As part of the pre-bidding activity, alto saxophonist Peter King played the horn, with the auction tag dangling from it. Rifftides reader Don Emanuel sent this link to a video of King demonstrating the alto with his regular rhythm section of the time, pianist Steve Melling, bassist Alec Dankworth and drummer Steve Keogh. The eight-minute clip has more than curiosity value. King can play.
The city of Kansas City, the birthplace of Charlie Parker, won the bidding at $144,500. The saxophone is in the collection of the American Jazz Museum in KC.