The year is 1993. Jazz musician RED RODNEY is performing at a private concert at the White House for, and with, President Bill Clinton.
Narrator: Red’s son, MARK RODNEY , tells us this was one of his father's last performances before his death the following year.
Flashback: The year is 1967. Mark is being detained by the FBI at their Las Vegas bureau. The agents are pressuring him to give up his father’s whereabouts, but he doesn’t know where Red is.
Mark tells us… His father wasn't always the family man he grew to be in his later years. Growing up, he'd had a different relationship with his father and a different childhood than nearly everyone he'd known. It could redefine the term "dysfunctional."
Red -- born Robert Chudnick -- was a celebrated jazz musician, and one of the finest be-bop trumpeters in the world. At age 18, his friend and fellow trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie introduced him to the legendary jazz musician CHARLIE "BIRD" PARKER . Red, the only white member of Parker's band, toured with Parker for two years. During one famous tour of the South (1948), he posed as a pale skinned Negro named "Albino Red" because mixed bands weren't allowed.
By the mid-'60s, Red has already become a featured performer in a couple of the top Las Vegas orchestra pit bands, playing at the Sands, the Flamingo, and other hot spots on the Strip. He performs nightly with SAMMY DAVIS JR. , FRANK SINATRA and other musical greats.
Meanwhile, Mark Rodney has been growing up in Hollywood, where he's becoming part of the music scene, though he's been focusing more on rock and folk than the jazz his father loves. Estranged from one another for more than ten years, it wasn't until Mark was a teenager that Red and he would reconcile and get to know one another.
DOWNBEAT is the story of their reconciliation in the summer of 1967.
Beyond his onstage persona, there was a side of Red’s personality few knew at the time; he was a con man! One of the first big examples of this is the 1964 scam that earned him the nickname, "The General."
Flashback 1964: Discovering he bears an almost identical likeness to Air Force General Russell T. McIntyre, Red assumes the persona of the four-star general. He bluffs his way on to the Department of Energy's top secret Nevada Test Site - Area 1. He storms into the base commander's office and informs Colonel Bellamy he's there for a surprise inspection of the base's payroll books and to stock up on needed medical supplies for his base up north. The Colonel orders all enlisted men to comply with the General's wishes, then opens his own office safe and steps out while Red performs his audit. Meanwhile, an officer at the infirmary begins filling the General’s trunk with medical supplies, including several cases of morphine sulphate. Inside the office, Red takes thirty thousand dollars in cash, and a few Atomic Energy Commission documents labeled "Confidential" --"Prepared For President Lyndon Baines Johnson (Eyes Only)" . These top-secret documents will later save Red's ass! With his loot in hand, and a trunk full of supplies, Red drives off into the desert.
Several months later, as Sammy Davis Jr. is performing mid-concert, detectives from the Clark County Sheriff's Department, led by Chief Detective KARL ALBRIGHT , burst into the glitzy showroom, interrupting the performance and arresting Red. As they are hustling him out of the showroom, Red escapes from their custody and ends up being chased through the casino, just like a scene from the Keystone Cops! Just as Red is about to escape from the building, however, Detective Albright shoots Red in the leg from behind.
The FBI is embarrassed about the theft of classified AEC documents, and they cut Red a deal: if he returns the top secret papers quietly, before the contents become public knowledge, they'll drop the charge of treason, and he will be allowed to plead only to the lesser drug charges. Red does this, and receives a total sentence of three years for pulling off his infamous "General Scam."
1967: After three years as a model prisoner, Red is paroled and returns to Vegas. He returns to his life, performing in the pit bands, and also returns to his criminal misadventures (despite the fact that Albright had threatened Red at his trial, telling him to stay out of Las Vegas or else he'd hunt him down).
Soon after his return to Las Vegas, Red does indeed come face to face with his nemesis in the parking lot of Lucky Pierre’s Diner. During the savage beating that follows, Albright knocks out several of Red's front teeth. PEARL ANDERSON , the owner of the Diner, runs outside and chases away Albright, and instantly falls in love with the red-haired trumpet player as she helps him wipe blood from his mouth.
During this same period, Red's good friend, Las Vegas mob "ambassador" JOHNNY ROSELLI , has been acting as an intermediary between MOE DALITZ , who runs the Desert Inn casino, and billionaire HOWARD HUGHES , who purchases the hotel while living as a secluded shut-in on the hotel's ninth floor.
Through Roselli and his mob connections, Hughes -- who relies on his right hand man BOB MAHEU , the head of his Nevada Operations, to deliver his messages -- subsequently purchases several other hi-rise casinos on the Strip, including the Sands and the Frontier Hotels. Roselli successfully brokeres these deals, making sure the mob's skimming practices continue unabated, right under the noses of Hughes' own casino security staff.
One night, while playing with a jazz trio in one of the smaller casino clubs, Sammy Davis Jr. introduces Red to former heavyweight champ SONNY LISTON . When Red asks Sonny about the "Phantom Punch" which ended Liston's reign, Sonny -- who was in debt to the mob -- tells him "I did what they told me." A business partnership is formed, and soon they are selling heroin to Las Vegas musicians and celebrities.
Meanwhile, Red's son Mark has been running small-time cons of his own down in L.A. while also pursuing his music career. We see him at a party held in a mansion high in the Hollywood Hills, jamming with none other than Jimi Hendrix. Their good times quickly come to end on this particular day when members of L.A.'s finest swarmed the property. Many of his friends escape arrest, but a fast-thinking officer catches Mark in the process of trying to flush a baggie full of marijuana down the toilet. He is arrested along with twenty others.
Pearl Anderson heard about Mark's arrest through her own contacts, and drives down to L.A. to bail Red's son out of lock-up, posing as his court-appointed attorney. "Aunt Pearl" returns to Las Vegas with Mark and the intent of reconciling the boy with his father, but her ulterior motive is to use Mark to turn Red's attention toward her and away from Red's girlfriend, JUNE REESE .
Red soon learns of Mark's burgeoning talents as a small-time thief and up n' coming con artist, and realizes it's time to take his son under his wing in order to teach him all he has to offer. Initially Mark is kept on the fringes, mostly making heroin deliveries with Sonny Liston acting as his over-protective bodyguard, but after repeated instances of Mark "proving" himself, Red brings him into the fold. He teaches Mark the code of the con man: Don’t rip-off unsuspecting tourist -- go after people who really deserve to be conned for their own greediness, in particular "marks" who follow no particular moral code at all.
As the supreme example of these teachings, Red begins putting together two major cons ("long cons" in the parlance of the con artist), both of which will help to generate cash to last he and Mark for years! The first con is carefully plotted out to exact revenge on the sadistic Det. Karl Albright; the other takes direct aim at the insurance company that has denies Red's dental claim after Albright knocked out his front teeth.
For the first con, with the help of Johnny Roselli (who believes Red is truly making an effort to go legit), Red sets up a phony investment scheme to purchase what is now the Golden Nugget casino in downtown Las Vegas. Red turns to drug dealer and confidant PAT KERN , who was a member of the same Mormon Church as the Albright family, who leaks information of the investment to Karl Albright. Albright is persuaded to donate funds, totaling just over two million dollars, that have been collected to build a new annex for the local LDS church, to be christened the "Albright Centre for Study and Prayer." In a private meeting, Red convinces Albright the property is a goldmine. There is also an opportunity, in addition to a nice return on his substantial financial investment, for Albright to take over as the new head of security. This is especially appealing since SHERIFF RALPH LAMB is close to ending Albright’s current employment, due to his continuing violent and sadistic actions.
Karl Albright secretly borrows ALL of the funds from the Albright trust to invest in the new casino, unbeknownst to his father, BUD ALBRIGHT , a local civic leader and high-ranking Church Elder. With the help of Red's girlfriend, former bank teller June Reese, Red transfers all of the money into an account set up under a fictitious name, and essentially makes the funds vanish into thin air! When the drained trust is discovered, the Albright family is disgraced. Elder Bud is furious with his son, and Karl is finished, vowing to kill his sworn arch-enemy, Red Rodney, who organized the elaborate con right under his own nose!
During this same period, Red -- with Pearl Anderson posing as Mark's mother -- meets with an agent from the insurance company who tells him he's not going to be reimbursed for his expensive dental implants because they are not covered under the Flamingo casino's dental plan. Red discusses with the agent that his son and wife should be taken care of in the event that something tragic happen to him, and takes out life insurance policies on himself, his "wife" and Mark. Each other are listed as beneficiaries in amounts of $250,000 each.
Over the next month, things begin to heat up with Sonny Liston and the heroin ring. Mark is told to stay away from Sonny. But, Mark doesn't obey his father's wishes and ends up in several threatening encounters with the former heavyweight boxer. Sonny’s been using the product and stealing from the operation. His days are numbered. Mark continues disappearing for days at a time, leaving Red concerned and wondering where he is.
One night after performing, Red walks out to the parking lot to find that his Cadillac has been stolen. He calls the police and reports the theft. Several hours later, Sheriff Lamb meets with Red at the Sand's casino bar and tells him they've found his car ditched in the desert near Pahrump.
It was torched, and inside was a burnt body of a boy matching Mark's age and description. The coroner is awaiting identification of the body through fingerprints and dental records, which indeed turn out to be a match to Mark Rodney. The body is quickly cremated, and a memorial service is held on the roof of the Sands hotel. Concluding a beautiful eulogy, Red casts Mark's ashes to the wind. They drift down onto the face of Detective Karl Albright, who is not convinced...
Life moves on for Red. He and June begin planning for a trip to Paris, where he intends to propose to her at the Eiffel Tower. Unexpectedly, he gets a call from his friend, Las Vegas District Attorney GEORGE FRANKLIN , who tells him someone has made an anonymous call suggesting that they look further into the Mark Rodney death.
As it turns out, and what the audience doesn't know until now, is Mark is alive! He's been in L.A., laying low with friends at a home in Laurel Canyon. Red promised him half of the loot. However, with the heat being turned up, Red and June have to flee to Paris, and Mark is left on his own with little money and feelings of abandonment.
Detective Albright is blinded by rage. He’s lost two million dollars, and is sure something is amiss. With little else to do, he sets out alone to hunt down the truth about Mark Rodney's death. He sends Mark's description to the West Hollywood police. He also discovers an inconsistency in Mark Rodney's fingerprints when comparing Mark's Hollywood arrest files with prints from the corpse, taken by the Las Vegas coroner. Albright receives a wire containing a description of Mark's possible whereabouts from a narcotics officer who tailed him in Laurel Canyon. Albright makes a beeline from Las Vegas to Hollywood, and head's straight to the hills. He kicks in the door of a modest, Laurel Canyon bungalow, drags Mark out in cuffs, and throws him in the back of his car.
On the drive back to Las Vegas, Mark attempts to escape, but he's quickly recaptured. Sitting in the back, Mark notices his file on the seat with the falsified prints sticking out. He pockets them for future use. Once back in Las Vegas, Sheriff Lamb and the FBI take over the case. They notice that the handcuffed teen is bruised, and his feet are bloodied (the result of running barefoot through the parking lot at the Mad Greek restaurant while trying to escape). He turns over the falsified prints to Sheriff Lamb, telling the sheriff he thinks Detective Albright is trying to set him up. Due to Karl Albright's sadistic nature, his uncontrollable outbursts, and his violent treatment of Mark, Sheriff Lamb ends Albright's career as an officer of the law forever. He will never do any more than sell carpets for the rest of his life!
Mark's troubles aren't over. He's still in hot water with the Feds, having participated in Red's scams. The insurance scam is by far the largest offense, especially since the $250,000 has already been paid to Red! The FBI agents are willing to cut Mark a deal in exchange for Red, but he tells them he can't help them. Red has fled to Paris, and Mark has no idea where he is or how to contact him.
We've now caught up to where this story began.
Once again, Aunt Pearl steps in to save Mark. She gets Red on the phone in Paris, and explains that his son is in big trouble unless he comes back to help him. That phone call is all it takes. Red hops on the next flight to Las Vegas, where he's arrested immediately. He's eventually sentenced to federal prison where he’ll spend the next ten years. Before leaving the courtroom, Red tells Mark "Lay off the con and live the straight life."
Postscript:
Red's last exchange of fatherly advice to Mark in the courtroom was something he took to heart. Both he and his son Mark did keep to the straight life, for the rest of their lives. They reconciled again after Red's release from prison in the late-70's. By the 80's, Mark was married, with children. Red becoming a grandfather changed everything. He became the family man he was always meant to be, focusing on his son, his grandchildren, and mentoring up and coming musicians.
In the early 1970s, Red appeared regularly on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show" plus numerous other TV shows. In the mid-80's, Red consulted on Clint Eastwood's Bird, a film bio-pic about legendary jazz musician Charlie Parker. He played all of his own trumpet solos for the film's soundtrack. During that decade, Red was inaugurated into Playboy's Jazz Hall of Fame. A studio album he had recorded with Ira Sullivan, Spirit Within, was awarded a Grammy in 1982, and Red was also nominated for two other Grammys.
In 1990, Downbeat readers voted him in the magazine's Hall of Fame. He was voted Best Acoustic Jazz Group leader and was put second behind Wynton Marsallis -- a former student of Red's -- as best trumpet player. By 1993, he had recorded more than 20 albums, including four with Charlie Parker and two with Dexter Gordon. He was touring up to 50 weeks a year and took time off to teach jazz music to college students.
His final performance was feted at a lavish dinner at the White House, where he sat with President Bill and Hilary Clinton as their special guest, and afterwards he and the President jammed together on Dizzy Gillespie's "Salt Peanuts."
His death from lung cancer, on May 27, 1994, prompted a memorial from jazz musicians who displayed lit candles in the windows of jazz clubs from New York to San Francisco. After Red's death, Mark received many letters and phone calls of condolence and praise for his father. Among those were letters from Bill and Hillary Clinton, director Clint Eastwood, and phone calls from Rolling Stones Drummer, Charlie Watts.
Check out Red Rodney's MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/therealredrodney
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