Nica's Thread

[Bright Moments]

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...topic=20057&hl=

this is another thread with a link to monk playing chopin and nica speaking in the background.

[sidewinder]

From my copy of the Daily Telegraph 'Book of Obituaries' ('Eccentric Lives' edition):

Pannonica de Koenigswarter, who has died in New York aged 74, was the daughter of a British Rothschild and the wife of a French diplomat, but rejected her native milieu to become a notable patron of jazz.

She was known as the 'Bebop Baroness', as her friends and beneficiaries were leading exponents of the Bebop school which revolutionised the American jazz scene in the 1940s and 1950s. They included Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Charlie 'Bird' Parker - who spent his last hours in 'Nica' Koenigswarter's Manhattan apartment.

Themedical report on Parker indicated that his death was due to an excess of drugs and alcohol; that he was a jazzman and she a baroness provided a heady mixture for the press. The headlines included 'BOP KING DIES IN HEIRESS'S FLAT' and 'THE BIRD IN THE BARONESS'S BOUDOIR'.

She featured in all the books on Parker and is portrayed by Diana Salinger in the Clint Eastwood film 'Bird'. She is also seen in 'Straight, No Chaser', a documentary about Thelonious Monk - in which she comes across as a lively and beautiful woman, her cut-glass accent, without a trace of Transatlantic overtones, contrasting starkly with Monk's unintelligible mumblings.

The Baroness was witty, sardonic and outspoken. She painted abtruse canvases, using a mixture of acrylic, milk, scotch whiskey and scent; she was fascinated by African sculpture, Afro-American music and negritude generally.

She dressed casually in highly expensive clothes. Her Rolls-Royce (which she described as her 'Silver Sparrow'), her furs and gold pocket-flask were familiar to the habitues of the jazz clubs in Greenwich Village and Harlem.

The eccentric Monk was her closest associate, and he recorded 'Pannonica' as a dedication to his benefactress; other dedications were 'Nica Steps Out' by pianist Freddie Redd and 'Nica's Dream' by alto-saxophonist Gigi Gryce.

It was Monk who introduced her to Parker, who was much impressed by this unexpected vision of haute Bohemia, by the Baroness's politeness in dealing with servants and her casual handling of complaints by her outraged landlords. He was amused too, to find in the Fifth Avenue salon of this eccentric aristocrat a haven from the pressures of poverty, the hostility of the critics and the attentions of the Narcotics Squad.

Kathleen Annie Pannonica Rothschild was born in 1913, the youngest daughter of the banker Nathaniel Charles Rothschild - and a sister of the late Lord Rothschild, another notable jazz enthusiast, and of the naturalist Miriam Rothschild.

Pannonica had a conventional upper-class childhood, attending a finishing school in Paris and a coming-out ball in London but she showed early signs of atypical behaviour by becoming an aviatrix.

She met her husband-to-be, Col Baron Jules de Koenigswarter, Minister Plenipotentiary at the French Embassy in New York, at Le Touquet Airport. They were married in 1935 and had five cildren; the marriage was dissolved in 1956.

During the Second World War the Baroness was variously a decoder with Gen. de Gaulle's intelligence service, a private in the Free French Army, a broadcaster from a propaganda station in Brazzaville, Equatorial French Africa and later a driver for the War Graves Commission.

In 1951, bored with life as a diplomat's wife at the French Embassy in Mexico City, she left her husband and took up residence in a luxuriously-furnished suite at the Hotel Stanhope on New York's Fifth Avenue, which soon became a 'crash pad' for a number of black jazz musicians.

Thelonious Monk was often to be seen in the hotel lobby wearing a red shirt, deer-stalker hat, dark glasses and carrying a white cane, much to the disgust of the other excessively respectable residents who complained to the management, adding to the many complaints about jam sessions going on until the early hours of the morning. An annoyed but respectful management doubled her rent - a matter of little import to a Rothschild.

It was Monk who persuaded her to abandon hotel life, with its tiresome constraints on the playing of Bebop jazz throughout the night, and together they moved to an apartment overlooking the Hudson River.

Since Monk's death in 1982 she had been virtually a recluse, living with an assortment of cats.

December 10th 1988

Incredible !

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Uh oh - now Nica's Dream is by Gigi Gryce?

No, Nica's Dream is by Horace Silver and Nica's Tempo is by Gigi Gryce.

Mike

[sidewinder]

Yes, there are several inaccuracies in this obituary. Freddie Redd appears as 'Freddy Redd' as well. At least they tried..

[Bright Moments]

thanks for that one sidewinder!!!

[sidewinder]

A pleasure !

[Christiern]

I don't have any Nica stories, but I vividly recall her visits to Riverside's offices. She apparently felt a need to "approve" of album covers whenever one of her favorites had an impending release. She drove a Bentley and since Riverside's offices were in the Paramount Hotel on West 46th Street (in the heart of NYC's theater district), she could never find a parking space. No problem, she simply stopped the car at the hotel's entrance and left the motor running. On one visit, when she came to give a Barry Harris album the okay, I looked out the window and saw that she had also left the car door open. She was vivacious and, it seemed, always in a hurry; she carried a small silver hip flask with her, offering people a sip--I never accepted the offer, so I have no idea what was in there, but I never thought it might be lemonade.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

I don't have any Nica stories, but I vividly recall her visits to Riverside's offices. She apparently felt a need to "approve" of album covers whenever one of her favorites had an impending release. She drove a Bentley and since Riverside's offices were in the Paramount Hotel on West 46th Street (in the heart of NYC's theater district), she could never find a parking space. No problem, she simply stopped the car at the hotel's entrance and left the motor running. On one visit, when she came to give a Barry Harris album the okay, I looked out the window and saw that she had also left the car door open. She was vivacious and, it seemed, always in a hurry; she carried a small silver hip flask with her, offering people a sip--I never accepted the offer, so I have no idea what was in there, but I never thought it might be lemonade.

←

...merely mountain spring Koenings-warter.

[Bright Moments]

I don't have any Nica stories, but I vividly recall her visits to Riverside's offices. She apparently felt a need to "approve" of album covers whenever one of her favorites had an impending release. She drove a Bentley and since Riverside's offices were in the Paramount Hotel on West 46th Street (in the heart of NYC's theater district), she could never find a parking space. No problem, she simply stopped the car at the hotel's entrance and left the motor running. On one visit, when she came to give a Barry Harris album the okay, I looked out the window and saw that she had also left the car door open. She was vivacious and, it seemed, always in a hurry; she carried a small silver hip flask with her, offering people a sip--I never accepted the offer, so I have no idea what was in there, but I never thought it might be lemonade.

←

for a guy without a nica story, that was a pretty good one! thanks!

[JPF]

Trivia Department:

Two of the people most closely associated with Monk in his life, Charlie Rouse and Nica, died on the exact same day, November 30, 1988.

[sidewinder]

One of the vivid memories (apart from the great music) from that Monk 'Straight, No Chaser' video is of that incredible menagerie of cats she had running riot in the appartment. Whoever did the cleaning in that place had a challenge, to say the least. Also the incredible view of the Hudson River from the panoramic window. Time to dig that video out, I think.

[brownie]

Up!

The memoirs of Nica de Koenigswarter will be published in France next week.

Les Musiciens de Jazz et Leurs Trois Voeux

The book includes some 100 photos from Nica's private collection.

The book is being published for the first time in France after having been turned down by US book companies.

Some of the photos are visible in this week's issue of 'Le Nouvel Observateur'.

The title translates 'The Jazz Musicians and their Three Wishes'.

Miles Davis' wish - according to the book - was 'to be white'!

[mikeweil]

The book is being published for the first time in France after having been turned down by US book companies.

Ridiculous!

[JSngry]

I'd tell you how she started smoking when she was 14, but I'm afraid you'd have a Nica-teen fit.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

i know i shouldn't be, but

[Bright Moments]

hope the book gets translated into english!

Edited November 11, 2006 by Bright Moments

[sidewinder]

Miles Davis' wish - according to the book - was 'to be white'!

[brownie]

hope the book gets translated into english!

The book was written in english and translated into french for its first publication

Can't believe that there has been no takers so far among english-speaking publishers for this book. The baroness had quite an interesting life! It should be a great read and the photos I have seen look amazing!

It's like a family photo book with shots of people like Monk, Mingus, Coleman Hawkins, Coltrane, etc...

[Peter Friedman]

Early in this thread there was a discussion of the Gigi Gryce tune "Social Call". One of my favorite versions of that tune is on what I believe to be the first recorded version. It is on the Art Farmer Quintet session on Prestige titled "When Farmer Met Gryce".

It's a terrific tune and there are many other worthy versions available as well.

[brownie]

The book will be out later this week. Managed to get an early copy.

Can understand better why the US publishers shied away from releasing it.

It's not Nica's memoirs. There is a nine-page foreword from Nadine de Koenigswarter, Nica's granddaughter.

The rest are contributions by 300 musicans (from Louis Armstrong to Sun Ra) on their three wishes! Plus tons of Polaroid shots taken by the Baroness of the musicians. The vast majority making their first appearances in the book. This includes candid photos of Monk, Coltrane, Miles, Sonny Clark, Mobley, Mingus, Hawkins, Rollins and many others.

Not general public stuff but fascinating reading for the jazz fan.

Very recommended book even for non-French readers!

[ValerieB]

The book will be out later this week. Managed to get an early copy.

Can understand better why the US publishers shied away from releasing it.

It's not Nica's memoirs. There is a nine-page foreword from Nadine de Koenigswarter, Nica's granddaughter.

The rest are contributions by 300 musicans (from Louis Armstrong to Sun Ra) on their three wishes! Plus tons of Polaroid shots taken by the Baroness of the musicians. The vast majority making their first appearances in the book. This includes candid photos of Monk, Coltrane, Miles, Sonny Clark, Mobley, Mingus, Hawkins, Rollins and many others.

Not general public stuff but fascinating reading for the jazz fan.

Very recommended book even for non-French readers!

brownie: will you take an order?!? i'd be willing to pay for your time as well as the expenses!! truth in jest, as they say!

[brownie]

brownie: will you take an order?!? i'd be willing to pay for your time as well as the expenses!! truth in jest, as they say!

Valerie, easiest way to get the book is to order thru Amazon.fr:

http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/2283020387...2490924-9864161

They don't have the book yet but it should be available after November 23, the official publication date.

Will be ready to help if you cannot get it thru Amazon.fr or any other outfit!

For your information, here are Walter Bishop's three wishes (rough translation):

1- Have my mind at ease

2- Contribute to jazz

3- Help others

His answers come after Bobby Timmons' and before Paul Chambers'

[ValerieB]

brownie: will you take an order?!? i'd be willing to pay for your time as well as the expenses!! truth in jest, as they say!

Valerie, easiest way to get the book is to order thru Amazon.fr:

http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/2283020387...2490924-9864161

They don't have the book yet but it should be available after November 23, the official publication date.

Will be ready to help if you cannot get it thru Amazon.fr or any other outfit!

For your information, here are Walter Bishop's three wishes (rough translation):

1- Have my mind at ease

2- Contribute to jazz

3- Help others

His answers come after Bobby Timmons' and before Paul Chambers'

thank you so much, brownie. i went on amazon.fr and managed to get as far as being acknowledged with a correct mailing address but, with my very poor command of the language, couldn't figure out how to actually place my order. i'll have to have someone on this end help me.

thanks too for listing walter's "three wishes". are these lists in the book? i spent the day yesterday with the bassist, reggie johnson, who was at our wedding in 1967! i don't think i had seen him since he lived in l.a. in the '70s. i believe he's been living in switzerland for the past 20+ years. we had a lovely reunion.

thanks again.

best,

valerie

[brownie]

thank you so much, brownie. i went on amazon.fr and managed to get as far as being acknowledged with a correct mailing address but, with my very poor command of the language, couldn't figure out how to actually place my order. i'll have to have someone on this end help me.

thanks too for listing walter's "three wishes". are these lists in the book? i spent the day yesterday with the bassist, reggie johnson, who was at our wedding in 1967! i don't think i had seen him since he lived in l.a. in the '70s. i believe he's been living in switzerland for the past 20+ years. we had a lovely reunion.

thanks again.

best,

valerie

Reggie Johnson's wishes are also in the book (his third one being to play with Miles'). There's a photo of him playing bass.

I remember Reggie as the young man who played impressively with the Marin Brown trio (Rashied Ali was the drummer) when Marion played a concert in Newark back in the fall of 1965!

PM me if you need help with Amazon.fr!

[ValerieB]

thank you so much, brownie. i went on amazon.fr and managed to get as far as being acknowledged with a correct mailing address but, with my very poor command of the language, couldn't figure out how to actually place my order. i'll have to have someone on this end help me.

thanks too for listing walter's "three wishes". are these lists in the book? i spent the day yesterday with the bassist, reggie johnson, who was at our wedding in 1967! i don't think i had seen him since he lived in l.a. in the '70s. i believe he's been living in switzerland for the past 20+ years. we had a lovely reunion.

thanks again.

best,

valerie

Reggie Johnson's wishes are also in the book (his third one being to play with Miles'). There's a photo of him playing bass.

I remember Reggie as the young man who played impressively with the Marin Brown trio (Rashied Ali was the drummer) when Marion played a concert in Newark back in the fall of 1965!

PM me if you need help with Amazon.fr!

your offer is very generous, brownie. i appreciate it. i'm hoping a girlfriend who is very fluent in french will help. but, if not, you'll hear from me!

sounds like reggie may not have gotten one of his wishes!