There’s a golden rule in Hollywood: Whatever worked once may work yet again. It makes sense, because story lines full of glamour and intrigue tend to appeal to wide audiences, regardless of the era or the prevailing mood. The film version of Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, won the Academy Award for best picture in 1941. When producer David O. Selznick read Hitchcock’s first treatment of the novel, he was reportedly “shocked and disappointed beyond words” at the detours the screenplay would take from the original narrative. READ ON

What Kinda Bird Is This? While it may sound like a wise-guy challenger to Peterson’s field guide, this is in fact a lively new release by drummer Eric Ineke and saxophonist Tineke Postma, one of many homages to the jazz titan Charlie Parker—better known as Bird—on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Prompted, we ponder some answers. A seagull of insatiable lusts and shrill, inconsolable keening? A phoenix rising from the ashes of early abashment (Jo Jones hurling a cymbal, dashing his errant solo) to soar as master of the alto saxophone, magus of bebop, and one of the great musicians of the 20th century? READ ON