Maria Schneider

Maria Schneider, the French actress who appeared opposite Marlon Brando in "Last Tango in Paris," the 1972 movie whose strong sexual content stirred international controversy, has died. She was 58. Schneider died in Paris on Thursday after a long illness, her family told Agence France Presse. She was a voluptuous, 19-year-old newcomer with long, curly brown hair framing a youthful face when she was cast in writer-director Bernardo Bertolucci's "Last Tango in Paris," in which she played a young engaged Parisian woman looking for an apartment to rent.

It's unlikely that the lunch crowd in the Haiku Asian Bistro is aware that one of the world's most progressive classical music singers is giving an interview in their chattering midst. But that's how it is with Dawn Upshaw. She blends right in with the suburban moms in this boutique New York suburb, a brief drive from the town where Upshaw lives with her 17-year-old son. Her 21-year-old daughter is away in college. However, it's safe to say that Upshaw, 50, is the only one in the restaurant talking about her love for the contrapuntal music of 81-year-old composer George Crumb.

Maria Schneider was just 19 years old when she did the last tango and some rather more risque dances here with a middle-aged widower played by Marlon Brando. "Last Tango in Paris" became an X-rated movie classic in 1972, but the uninhibited young French star seemed to disappear as quickly as she was discovered. Whatever happened to Maria Schneider? The actress, now 41, pondered that question in the bar of the Ritz Hotel the other day, pausing to light a cigarette and sip her espresso.

Maria Schneider, the French actress who appeared opposite Marlon Brando in "Last Tango in Paris," the 1972 movie whose strong sexual content stirred international controversy, has died. She was 58. Schneider died in Paris on Thursday after a long illness, her family told Agence France Presse. She was a voluptuous, 19-year-old newcomer with long, curly brown hair framing a youthful face when she was cast in writer-director Bernardo Bertolucci's "Last Tango in Paris," in which she played a young engaged Parisian woman looking for an apartment to rent.

Maria Schneider has been nominated for three Grammy awards this year, and there's another for saxophonist Donny McCaslin for a performance with her orchestra. That's not exactly a common occurrence in the jazz world, where nominations usually arrive one at a time. But the really fascinating story behind Schneider's nominations is that the album that triggered the selections, "Concert in the Garden," hasn't sold a single copy in a retail store.

Maria Schneider knew she'd hit it big when, on a visit to her tiny hometown of Windom, Minn., she saw her name in the window of a shop on main street. "It was in a story the Wall Street Journal did about me," she says. "And I'm not sure if they pasted it up in the window because it was about me or because it mentioned Windom. I mean, it's a very small town and I'm sure that it was the first and the last time that it ever got mentioned in a national publication like that."

As a Brando biographer ("Marlon Brando," Doubleday, 1987), I take exception to Maria Schneider's statement that she is "quite proud to be the only European actress to play opposite Marlon Brando" (Film Clips, Feb. 20). By the time Brando appeared with Schneider in "Last Tango in Paris" in 1972, he had co-starred with Anna Magnani in "The Fugitive Kind" (1960) and with Sophia Loren in "A Countess From Hong Kong" (1967). Perhaps Schneider doesn't consider Italy to be part of Europe.

Maria Schneider wanted to be a dancer when she was growing up in the small Minnesota town of Windom. Instead, she became a composer, working primarily in the genre of jazz but never abandoning either her affection or her affinity for dance. On Sunday evening at the Cal State Northridge Performing Arts Center, Schneider also revealed that she hasn't really given up on her physical connection with dance either.

Can an ambitious and talented girl from the small Midwest farming community of Windom, Minn., find success and happiness in the big city? Let's say there's a fair chance. New York City's entertainment world is rejuvenated every year by eager talent from the small towns of America. But what if the girl's primary goal is to work as a jazz composer? Now we're talking serious long shots, which makes the accomplishments of Windom favorite daughter Maria Schneider all the more remarkable.

You say it's not possible to win a jazz Grammy with an album that isn't out in stores, at the listening posts or available on Amazon? Think again. Composer and bandleader Maria Schneider did it in 2005 with "Concert in the Garden," as did Billy Childs in 2006 and Brian Lynch and Eddie Palmieri in 2007 -- all on the ArtistShare label. And Schneider has two more nominations this year for "Sky Blue," also on ArtistShare. "I was the first artist on ArtistShare," says the New York-based musician.

You say it's not possible to win a jazz Grammy with an album that isn't out in stores, at the listening posts or available on Amazon? Think again. Composer and bandleader Maria Schneider did it in 2005 with "Concert in the Garden," as did Billy Childs in 2006 and Brian Lynch and Eddie Palmieri in 2007 -- all on the ArtistShare label. And Schneider has two more nominations this year for "Sky Blue," also on ArtistShare. "I was the first artist on ArtistShare," says the New York-based musician.

Maria Schneider's music is, to the big jazz band styles of the 20th century, what Debussy and Ravel were to the orchestras of Wagner and Strauss. That is, using familiar jazz band instrumentation -- sections of trumpets, trombones, saxophone and rhythm -- Schneider is reaching beyond the typical high-energy textures of the past in search of subtle new gradations of color and emotion, informed by impressionistic musical transparency.

Maria Schneider has been nominated for three Grammy awards this year, and there's another for saxophonist Donny McCaslin for a performance with her orchestra. That's not exactly a common occurrence in the jazz world, where nominations usually arrive one at a time. But the really fascinating story behind Schneider's nominations is that the album that triggered the selections, "Concert in the Garden," hasn't sold a single copy in a retail store.

Maria Schneider wanted to be a dancer when she was growing up in the small Minnesota town of Windom. Instead, she became a composer, working primarily in the genre of jazz but never abandoning either her affection or her affinity for dance. On Sunday evening at the Cal State Northridge Performing Arts Center, Schneider also revealed that she hasn't really given up on her physical connection with dance either.

Can an ambitious and talented girl from the small Midwest farming community of Windom, Minn., find success and happiness in the big city? Let's say there's a fair chance. New York City's entertainment world is rejuvenated every year by eager talent from the small towns of America. But what if the girl's primary goal is to work as a jazz composer? Now we're talking serious long shots, which makes the accomplishments of Windom favorite daughter Maria Schneider all the more remarkable.

In exchange for great pay, TV comedy writers face one giant occupational hazard--the inability to say whatever they want. Go ahead and bemoan how cruddy sitcoms are, but you try writing something genuinely funny with the network notes and the advertisers and the star egos to contend with.

In exchange for great pay, TV comedy writers face one giant occupational hazard--the inability to say whatever they want. Go ahead and bemoan how cruddy sitcoms are, but you try writing something genuinely funny with the network notes and the advertisers and the star egos to contend with.

Schneider, who served a valuable apprenticeship as Gil Evans' musical assistant, is one of the most highly praised arranger-composers to arrive on the jazz scene in the '90s. For the last few years, she has been maintaining a fairly regular ensemble for Monday night appearances at New York City's Visiones jazz club. The stability of the ensemble, with its easy feeling of togetherness, is what comes through as the most attractive quality in this otherwise dark and introspective album.

Schneider, who served a valuable apprenticeship as Gil Evans' musical assistant, is one of the most highly praised arranger-composers to arrive on the jazz scene in the '90s. For the last few years, she has been maintaining a fairly regular ensemble for Monday night appearances at New York City's Visiones jazz club. The stability of the ensemble, with its easy feeling of togetherness, is what comes through as the most attractive quality in this otherwise dark and introspective album.

Maria Schneider knew she'd hit it big when, on a visit to her tiny hometown of Windom, Minn., she saw her name in the window of a shop on main street. "It was in a story the Wall Street Journal did about me," she says. "And I'm not sure if they pasted it up in the window because it was about me or because it mentioned Windom. I mean, it's a very small town and I'm sure that it was the first and the last time that it ever got mentioned in a national publication like that."