'Confidential' does justice to Harvey

This week jazz musician Stephen L. Harvey will achieve in death something he came tantalizingly close to doing in his lifetime - being seen by a national audience. Twenty-one years after the 27-year-old saxophonist was found murdered near the Liberty Memorial, Harvey's story is told in a moving and engrossing edition of the A&E series "City Confidential." The one-hour program airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday on A&E. David Wallach, a former WDAF-TV reporter who produced the show for A&E, interviewed many of those who were close to Harvey, including his wife, Rhea, and daughter Hope; fellow musicians Mark Pender, David Basse and Ida McBeth; and Alvin Sykes, who, along with Harvey's family, undertook a lonely fight to have the killer brought to justice. "City Confidential" is an unusual hybrid of travelogue and true crime. Thus the opening act isn't about Harvey at all; it's about Kansas City then and now; about the jazz scene that stubbornly hung on and gave sustenance to generations of artists and audiences; and about our town's violent streak and racial troubles, which intersected in the early hours of Nov. 5, 1980, not far from the torch that then burned atop Liberty Memorial. Wallach (who makes a cameo appearance early on, pushing a baby stroller) also shows never-before-seen photographs of Harvey performing with Count Basie at a concert at 12th and Vine. He also does a laudable job of explaining the seldom-used federal statute that was used to convict Harvey's killer for hate crimes after an all-white jury had acquitted him of murder. The program sends out mixed messages, one moment touting the American Jazz Museum (although wrongly asserting that Harvey played there), the next moment ridiculing our Cowtown heritage. But Steve Harvey sent out mixed messages, too: In the months leading up to his death, he was splitting his time between Kansas City and New York, a place that seemed better suited to his ambition. I've already raved about HBO's "Project Greenlight," the all-true story of an aspiring screenwriter who wins a contest to make his own million-dollar movie, courtesy of Miramax Films and producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. But let me rave a little more - it's that good. In this week's episode, airing at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO, first-time director and Mizzou grad Pete Jones realizes that the $1 million budget promised to him by Miramax is woefully inadequate for his script. Affleck agrees - and decides to go straight to studio chief Harvey Weinstein to ask for a raise. The consequences play out swiftly and most entertainingly. If you missed last week's "Project Greenlight," it repeats at 10 p.m. Tuesday. Movies: "The Pretender: The Island of the Haunted," the second teleflick to be based on the former NBC series, airs at 7 tonight on TNT, in the show's regular nightly time slot. It's preceded by a 21-hour "Pretender" marathon. My favorite "ER" doc, Laura Innes (the one with the cane), co-stars with the ageless Ruby Dee in "Taking Back Our Town" (8 tonight, Lifetime), based on a true story about two women who fight a corporation they believe is poisoning their air and water supply. And VH1 has assembled another cast of unknowns to make another fictional movie based on the rise and fall of a real-life pop idol. Romany Malco stars, if that is the right word, in "Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story," at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Holiday specials this week: "Everybody Loves Raymond's" Patricia Heaton plays a reporter and Peter Falk plays an angel - this must be CBS - in "A Town Without Christmas," 8 p.m. Sunday on Channel 5. Nickelodeon airs a marathon of its holiday shows beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday. And Tony Bennett and Reba McEntire headline "Christmas in Washington" at 7 p.m. Sunday on TNT. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Steve Harvey at the Count Basie 'Homecoming' in 1979 @ART:Photo @ART CREDIT:HARTZELL GRAY