FRANCE: American Jazz legend Sidney Bechet's saxophone was sold for more than 100,000 euros in Paris during auction aimed at finance a DVD in his memory

American jazz icon Sidney Bechet's saxophone was sold for more than 100,000 euros along with a number of other objects inherited by the musician's son, who organized an auction in Paris on Wednesday (December 7) in order to finance the production of a DVD in his memory. Daniel Bechet was only five years old when his father passed away in 1959, but he said that it was painful for him to give away some of the most precious amongst his belongings. He said that it was not an easy choice, aimed at keeping the memory of the jazzman alive. "I am here but it feels as if I wasn't really. It feels a little unreal. It was not like a real choice. I have meditated a lot on this project and I hope that the offers will be at the height of his success," he said before the auction. Bechet's saxophone was bought by one of his most dedicated admirers, a jazz aficionado from Geneva who started buying his records when he was just a kid and wrote as many as eight books on him as an adult. Swiss bank official and clarinet player Guy Demole paid about 120,000 euros, including fees, for his idol's soprano saxophone, far more than the 40 - 80,000 euros which had been estimated by the auction organizers. "I have always had a passion for Sidney Bechet. I wrote some books. I wrote eight books about him. I started collecting his records when I was twelve and he has always been a reference in music to me," he said. Bechet's clarinet was also sold in the auction for 26,000 euros without fees, while the fake leopard jacket he used to wear on stage was bought for 5,000 euros. Two handwritten love letters to his wife were also sold for more than 2,000 euros each, as well as a set of golden twin buttons featuring the jazzman's initials. Sidney Bechet's mortuary mask was sold for about 4,000 euros, while the total amount which was bid on the lot on auction was above 160,500 euros without fees. Sidney Bechet was born in New Orleans, USA, the capital city of the world of jazz, in 1897, from a creole family of musicians. He became famous as a clarinet player when he was still a teenager and travelled the United States and Europe with a number of jazz bands. Bechet also learned how to play the saxophone and started recording his music in the Twenties with bands such as that of jazz legend Louis Armstrong. He performed all over the world before settling in Paris, the European centre of jazz music, ten years before his death. ENDS.

ITN Source | December 12, 2005

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