The first blurb on the back of the dust jacket of
Nica's Dream: The Life and Legend of the Jazz Baroness comes from none other than Robin D. G. Kelley, author of the excellent biography
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original. While I have a general protest with the subtitling of biographies through various combinations of the words
life,
times,
legend, and/or
man/woman, the author of Nica's Dream, David Kastin has produced a fine book that does its best to present the narrative of a person whose life was ostensibly public, but really quite private -- even after 200 plus pages of narrative.
Kastin wisely opens his book with a treatment of the persistent and unkind rumors (now myths) surrounding Nica -- the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter -- and her involvement in the death of Charlie Parker. Although Kastin doesn't completely convey the chaos that Parker's life had become in the weeks before his death, he does establish that much of the mystery surrounding Nica's actual involvement Parker's death were largely a function of her usual mode of operation. She was a generous patron of jazz, always willing to open her home, her purse, her kitchen (or room-service), and the door of her Bentley convertible to those musician who might need a place to sleep, a little money, some food, or even transportation. One gets the sense that Parker could have expired in any one of a dozen living rooms, in the state he was in, and that the hype surrounding the particular circumstances of Bird's death had more to do with sexism, antisemitism, and cultural paranoia about "race mixing." With all he Bird bunk largely debunked, Kastin can get on with Nica's story.
Briskly and entertainingly evoking the family background of the elite British Rothschild family, Kastin evokes the young Kathleen Anne Pannonica as a bright, adventuresome person who has a taste for the fullness of the world and, by the age of twenty-one, has flown her own plane. Married to the French aristocrat, Baron Jules de Koenigswarter, the couple plays a daring role in the French Resistance, and by the time the war is over and the Baron has settled into the staid post as a diplomat, Nica and he had four children. None of that stopped her from running off to New York to pursue her true love -- jazz. It's the death of Parker and the perception of scandal surrounding it that gives the Baron occasion to divorce Nica.
For the better part of three decades, "the Jazz Baroness" played a central role in supporting scores of musicians in the New York scene -- Coleman Hawkins, Jon Hendricks, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, among others. Most famously, of course, Nica was a friend and essential supporter of Thelonious Monk, whose "'Round Midnight" set her on the path to New York, and whose "Pannonica" was written in her honor. At time, Monk's presence in Nica's world is so prominent, Kastin's book reads at times like another version of Kelley's Monk biography. Having read both books, I venture to say that Kastin's book does a slightly better job of evoking Monk's final years, suffering from mental illness, living largely as a recluse in a room in Nica's modernist house overlooking the Hudson from its perch in Weehauken, New Jersey.
Kastin doesn't do too much needless psychological probing into the Baroness and her motivations for hanging out so much in the world of jazz musician. As a modern, she understood the music; as a seeker of freedom, she understood very well what largely African-American artists were seeking to achieve through their work; as a generous and kind soul, she could provide what was needed to those for whom so much was denied. Also admirable is Kastin's avoidance of speculation about Nica's romantic liaisons, which would have quickly diminished her importance as a serious patron of the music.
Frustrating for both the reader and, no doubt, Kastin, was the relative lack of access to Nica's family members, who were reluctant to go on the record about the Baroness. In a similar way, but much more profoundly for jazz scholars in general, is the unheard archive of tapes -- hundreds made over many years -- the Baroness made of the conversations, jam sessions, and works-in-progress that happened in her hotel suite and Weehauken house. No doubt in years to come the Rothschild family will be more cooperative in interviews and in letting scholars examine that huge audio archive. For all the significant limitations to primary sources that Kastin appears to have encountered, he's done a fine job of distinguishing the life of Pannonica de Koenigswarter from the legend of Nica. Read in conjunction with Kelley's biography of Monk,
Nica's Dream completes a close portrait of a profound artistic friendship, as well as a broad landscape of the New York jazz scene in the 1950s and 60s.
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From 2006, it's a Passing Notes classic -- clipping coupons, searching for discounts, and memories of the Island of Misfit Toys.
Passing Notes has been podcasting in one form or another since 2006, when I contributed each week to Flak Magazine's audio content -- now available as FlakRadio. After my infant-and-toddler-induced hiatus, I made the decision to return to work on the radio, on the web, and as a podcaster, leaving my previous life as a print freelancer behind.
I'm planning to make much more audio available in the Passing Notes Unscripted format, which is a "lightly edited" version of the long interviews I have as part of producing the Friday radio show. So, most weeks, you should be able to download the 5-minute radio feature, as well as a 20-40 minute extended interview a few days later. Thanks for reading -- and listening!
The Labor Day weekend is upon us, and Passing Notes marks its (fuzzy) one year (reboot) anniversary. A year's worth of writing this blog and producing my radio show and podcast has shown me the ups and downs of those 52 weeks -- what times are busy, what times are leisurely. Passing Notes is a labor of love -- I earn a very small income from it -- and most of the reward comes from the people I get to talk to and the books and music that arrive at the home office. An aspiring culture maven's work is never done.
. Featuring compositions and arrangements from the Argentine bassist, both the songs and the charts are intricately put together, made all the more listenable by the exemplary musicianship. These twelve musicians manage again and again to sound like a full jazz band, with the added bonus of their soloing, which is aggressive and adventuresome. A song like "Duende del Mate" moves wonderfully through all strengths of the group -- lush harmonies, interlocking rhythms, and fine individual musicianship within the whole.
is a standout. Based in Atlanta, Hibbard is joined in his quintet by Louis Heriveaux (piano), Marc Miller (bass), Justin Varnes (drums), Melvin Jones (trumpet), and it's evident in every bar that these guys have been playing together for some time. Of the dozen songs on the CD, all but two are Hibbard compositions, each one interesting and memorable in both musical ideas and performance. "Hollowed Ground," which seems at times to take its cue from the work of John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner, has a wonderful melody and break, with some gorgeous open-voicings and an exciting build in both Hibbard and Melvin Jones' solos. The more you listen, the more you keep finding things to like. Time Gone By is an album you should not let slip by unnoticed this year.
The title track from Itai Kriss' The Shark
tells you about you need to know about this flutist and composer: the Israeli-born musician draws very much on wide range of musical influences -- jazz and classical, as well as Latin and even Middle Eastern sounds, all within the flexible framework of a top-notch band. With Aaron Goldberg on piano, Omer Avital on bass, and Eric McPherson on drums, Kriss has a tight, confident context to present his writing and improvising. Better still, both John Ellis (tenor) and Avishai Cohen (trumpet) make appearances on The Shark, and Kriss' virtuoso chops are in fine shape as he more than holds his own -- he commands attention with the woodwind, bringing it to the front of things, which, with apologies to Ian Anderson and Herbie Mann, has not usually been the place for the flute. But Kriss does it right.
With all the compositions on the album by Brunke, there is still a sufficient variety of tempos and textures to keep the listener engaged from beginning to end. Brunke seems to go out of her way to use the violin in a number of different ways -- as a lead instrument, as accompaniment, as percussion -- in each song, the most effective of which is "Desperation." At times, one wonders why the Brunke-led group felt that it needed to lean so much on vocals -- which are perfectly fine, by Marina Trost -- as the arrangements and playing in instrumental sections is more compelling than the lyrical content. Brunke would do well in her next release to simply play a little more, compose a little less, and let the strings and skins do the work. Listenable, certainly, but falling a little short here and there.
And finally, from among the scores of albums from one singer or another that arrive at the home office, a noteworthy release comes from Aimee Allen. Based in New York, Allen is a private attorney by day, and is a jazz singer by night. Winters and Mays
, while Allen's third album, is likely to appeal to a wide audience -- mixing a handful of well-chosen familiars ("Peel Me A Grape" and Sting's "Fragile" being the strongest) with Allen's own strong compositions. Cool and swinging throughout, Allen's voice works well with her backing ensemble of piano, guitar, bass, and drums. A song like "Eden Autumn and Noah, Too" displays both Allen's strength as a writer and her skill in swinging across tempo. With a great voice, great intonation and control, and great musical intelligence, Winters and Mays is a great album for any season.
