Review for The Jazz Baroness

This is an OK documentary produced by the BBC outlining the tenuous 'late period relationship between bohemian rich-kid, Pannonica de Koenigswarter (Nica for short) Rothschild, and Jazz pianist hipster Thelonious Monk.

Directed by her great-grandniece (who sees herself as something of a creative kindred spirit), it's a fascinating tale of the unlikeliest of matches. Thelonius heralded from the poorest of families, negro sharecroppers barely scarping an existence and with a history of mental illness, and she the daughter of a German Jewish family who were wealthy enough to have loaned the British Monarchy some cash in tough times.

Apparently, according to the documentary, Nica fell in love with a Thelonius Monk recording (Round Midnight) and travelled to America specifically to seek him out. Despite his marriage to another, she maintained a strange 'caretaker' relationship with him, driving him to grimy basement gigs in a Bentley and hosting all night Jam sessions in her posh apartment, filled with tens of cats.
Unfortunately, there is little film available of the pair together. Just a few fleeting 8mm pieces and a fist-full of photographs. So the narrative is tentatively weaved from a cloth comprised of archive photos, re-enactments, and interviews with commantators ranging from Jazz fan Clint Eastwood to real contenders like Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp and Quincy Jones.

Jazz fans will enjoy the few live performances which are perhaps the real gold-dust here, though there is probably nothing new here for old fans.

The story is of itself an interesting one. A very austere Rothschild mother seemingly abandoning her husband and five children to take up with a group of black musicians is the stuff of pot-boiling pulp fiction. The historic back-story (of the persecuted Rothschild's being subjected to the horrors of the holocaust and the abandonment of this empire to re-start in the U.S) is fascinating material, but the real nub of the piece gets little salacious or personal detail, other than the commentary of the interviewees which brings something of the social detail alive.

Other than a few passing anecdotes though, I felt the real question of whether this was an affair of the heart, or an affair of the art, was never fully explained. Nor was Monk's continuing and loyal marriage to his wife, Nellie. There are hints aplenty (that Nica and his wife got on well, willingly sharing the 'burden' of caring for the man they loved) but never enough detail to convince. Possibly, even today, the great Rothschild dynasty wouldn't want every inch of the truth revealed and there are very few interviews here with any family, including any of the five children she 'abandoned'.


My problem with the DVD arises from the fact that it is just doesn't feel special enough for a purchase. A perfectly acceptable 90-minute TV programme (plus 100 minutes of interview clips not used if you can be bothered to watch them all) but it just feels a bit slight for a DVD purchase. I enjoyed it once, but would I watch it again? Probably not.