Arts & Entertainment

Kindred Souls

Thelonius and "Baroness" find mysterious harmony.

Michael Fox
Special to the Jewish News

fabulous wealth in 1913. Banking was the
Jewish family's longstanding business, and
they had quietly accrued a jaw-dropping
annah Rothschild never quite
fortune, rarefied status and enormous
solves the mystery that compris- influence.
es the heart of The Jazz Baroness.
"We were brought up in great luxury but
But her seductive documentary about the
no liberty — and great discipline recalls
profound friendship between her British
Dame Miriam Rothschild, Nica's elderly
great-aunt and bebop pianist extraordi-
older sister, in an interview taped late in life.
naire Thelonius Monk provides so many
We infer that Nica chafed at the structure
bits of pleasure along the way that we
and expectations — Rothschild women
don't particularly mind.
couldn't work in the bank or go to college
Made for the BBC and airing half a dozen — and sought her own identity. Although
times on HBO2 over the next few weeks, The she participated in the debutante circuit
Jazz Baroness evokes a particular New York
and married well, she was a trained flier
state of mind — Manhattan in the 1950s
when she wed the French envoy Baron Jules
and '60s, when a hip, civilized night on
de Koenigswarter in 1935.
the town meant a jazz quartet and straight
They lived in France and started a family,
Scotch. Needless to say, a soundtrack filled
but during the war Nica and the children
with lovely, one-of-a-kind Monk perfor-
escaped to New York. She eventually made
mances adds immeasurably to the vibe.
her way to Africa, where the baron was
The mid-century setting provided unex- fighting with the Free French, and they were
pected common ground for the African-
together in Germany when the war ended.
American son of sharecroppers and an
The defining moment of Nica's postwar
affluent, strong-willed British Jew whose
life was hearing a piece called "'Round
family was touched by the Holocaust.
Midnight." Two years later, in 1954, when
Nica and Monk's bond allows for the
its composer performed in Paris, she flew
briefest of riffs on black-Jewish alliances,
from London to meet him. After an elec-
notably those formed during the civil rights tric week with Monk, Nica jettisoned her
movement. The Jazz Baroness is less inter-
English life, husband and children and
ested in the broader social ramifications of
relocated to New York.
the duo's relationship, however, than in their
Monk was married, and The Jazz
enigmatic personal connection.
Baroness assembles some evidence and
The story begins in England, where
testimony that, although Nica was his
Pannonica Rothschild was born into
patron, protector, occasional muse and

H

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Nate Bloom

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Special to the Jewish News

Holidays
42 Hilarious
Lewis Black, 61, the "Curmudgeon of

co
a)

Comedy," is the star of the History
vow Channel special Surviving the Holidays.
All of the major holidays between
and including Thanksgiving and New
Year's Day are covered. Along the way,
Black explains why
the Lions always play
on Thanksgiving,
interviews turkeys
on a farm, plays a
department store
Santa and covers
the sport of Major
Lewis Black
League dreidel (MLD).
Last Chanukah,
cameras followed Black as he went to
a New York club where the MLD games
are held. To paraphrase one descrip-

co)

48

November 19 • 2009

tion of the event: "Drunken Jewish
hipsters and hipster wannabes pit their
dreidel spinning skills against one
another as they vie for the coveted
crystal dreidel trophy and a shot at
Chanukah immortality unseen since
the days the Maccabees whupped
Hellenist ass."
Surviving the Holidays airs 8 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 23, with an encore pre-
sentation at midnight.

Team Bonding

Speaking of the
Lions, a former Lions
player, offensive
guard Kyle Kosier,
30, was revealed
to be Jewish last
month. The eight-
Kyle Koster
year NFL veteran,
who played for Detroit in 2005,
recently spoke to a Texas paper about

eternal friend, they weren't lovers.
That bit of gossip is less compelling
than the whereabouts, upbringing and
emotional turmoil of the five kids Nica
left behind. It's regrettable that they
wouldn't talk with their filmmaker
cousin, suggesting some longstanding
resentment. The filmmaker does come
across some cards and correspondence
that indicate that Nica did have a rela-
tionship with her children, and that
one or more of them lived with her in
Manhattan for various periods; but
that part of the picture never comes
clearly into focus.
Thelonious Monk and Pannonica "Nica"
What we do learn, from jazzmen like
Rothschild
Sonny Rollins and Archie Shepp, is that
Nica was a fixture on the downtown jazz
scene. She was unwavering in her assess-
Of course, we can never know what
ment of Monk's talent and importance but
bonds and binds two kindred souls,
also helped countless other musicians with
whether or not they are of different races
everything from groceries and the occa-
and come from different continents and
sional rent check to — in the case of Charlie classes. In The Jazz Baroness, it is enough
Parker — taking the rap for the marijuana
to have entree to their world.
found in the car they were taking to a gig.
For the record, some of the most compel-
If there were any doubts about Nica's
ling archival footage consists of clips from
allegiance to her musician friends, or
Straight No Chaser, Charlotte Zwerin's ter-
her standing as the black sheep of the
rific 1988 documentary about Monk. I
Rothschild family, this episode erased
them once and for all.
The Jazz Baroness premiers Nov. 25
The facts paint a clear picture in this
at 8 pm. on HBO2 and repeats Nov.
case. But the core of Monk and Nica's
29 at 8 a.m., Nov. 30 at 3 p.m., Dec.
extraordinary 28-year relationship eludes
3 at 6:30 p.m., Dec. 11 at 7:45 p.m.
Hannah Rothschild's swoops, forays, inter-
and Dec.16 at 1:30 p.m.
views and memorabilia digging.

the Dallas Cowboys' new defensive
end, Igor Olshanksy.
The two discovered their mutual
Jewish roots in Cowboys training
camp, and Kosier said, "Kind of cool
to have a teammate share the same
faith that I have." Jewish Sports
Review newsletter followed up on the
quote and found out that Kosier's
mother is Jewish (his father isn't) and
that Kyle is basically secular.

New Flicks

Opening Friday, Nov.
20, is The Twilight
Saga: New Moon, a
sequel to the mega-
hit vampire picture
Twilight.
In New Moon,
Nikki Reed
teenager Bella Swan
(Kristen Stewart) is devastated when
her vampire love, Edward Cullen,

suddenly leaves town, but she's corn-
forted by a growing friendship with
a new guy. Nikki Reed, 21, returns as
Rosalie Hale, a Cullen family mem-
ber, and Bloomfield native Elizabeth
Reaser, 34, the stepdaughter of the
late Bill Davidson, returns as Esme
Cullen, a mother figure for Bella.
Also opening Nov. 20 is Precious,
which won the Grand Jury and
Audience awards at the 2009
Sundance Film Festival. It is the story
of a 16-year-old African-American girl
who overcomes incredible adversity (an
absent father who twice impregnates
her and an emotionally and physi-
cally abusive mother) with the help of
some caring people, including a dowdy
Jewish welfare worker. Singer Mariah
Carey was improbably cast as the case-
worker, but her performance has been
seriously touted for a Best Supporting
Actress Oscar nomination. I I