Pannonica, Lin, and Gin
by Frank Amoss
Recently I viewed an HBO documentary entitled “The Jazz Baroness.” It was the story of the relationship between Thelonious Monk and Pannonica “Nica” de Koenigswater, daughter of Charles Rothschild, which endured from the mid-50’s until Monk’s death in 1982. Nica was the namesake of Monk’s composition “Pannonica” and Horace Silver’s “Nica’s Dream,” as well as many other jazz tunes dedicated to her by various artists.
It was in Nica’s Fifth Avenue apartment that Charlie Parker died in 1955. It is very likely that Nica attended rehearsals, which took place in Hall Overton’s loft in 821 Sixth Avenue, for Monk’s big band concert at Town Hall in 1959. I didn’t live there at the time (I lived in 821 in 1961) so I can’t know for sure.
During the 1960’s the north side of 52nd Street between Broadway and 8th Ave. consisted of (starting at the corner of Broadway and going west) Sam Goody’s Record Store, the Alvin Hotel, Junior’s Bar, Charlie’s Tavern, a Chinese Restaurant, Roseland Ballroom, the American National Theatre Academy and Local 802 Musicians’ Union. This was the bare remnant of the famous “Street that Never Slept,” one block to the east, which housed a number of jazz clubs in the 40’s and 50’s and had since become skyscrapers.
In the late summer of 1961 I was hanging out in front of Charlie’s Tavern. To the curb pulled a Rolls Royce. The doors opened and out stepped (saxophonist) Lin Halliday and Gin (Virginia McEwan, Lin’s teenage girlfriend). Lin was grinning from ear to ear. The two of them had been receiving the benefits of the Baroness’s patronage. She had taken them off the streets for a little while, provided a few good meals and probably left them with some cash in their pockets.
The Rolls Royce pulled away. Lin returned to his junkie scuffle and Gin soon fled New York forever. Nica continued to lend her support to Monk and other jazz musicians until her death in 1988.
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Frank Amoss is a drummer originally from Baltimore. He lived on the fifth floor of 821 Sixth Avenue in 1961. Today he is retired from a long career as president of the local musicians’ union in Orange County, CA.
Previously, Virginia “Gin” McEwan, now Virginia Wald, contributed a long blog entry here called “1961 in the Loft.“ Today she lives with her husband, bassist Ted Wald, in Port Townsend, WA.
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Gin Said,
August 20, 2010 @ 5:14 pm
Hello Frank, This is Gin. Thank you for the remembrance. I do remember hanging out with the Baronness but not the time you mention in the blog.
One night Sonny Clark, Lin and I chanced upon Nico in her car parked somewhere. Sonny knew her well we were invited to join her. Lin and I sat in the back while Sonny sat up front with her. We talked and smoked cigarettes for hours until it was time for her to pick up her daughter and take her somewhere. We did that and afterward Nica had to go pick up Monk from a club on MacDougal Street in the Village as it was time for the bars to close. She parked in front of the club and Monk came out and we all went upstairs to Michael (and Ruth) Downs apartment which was directly upstairs. Monk did not talk to us and both Nica and Monk soon left.
Recently Ted finished reading a book by R.G. Kelley, a biography of Thelonious Monk in which he mentions Sonny a few times. It turns out that Nica had a hand in Sonny demise as she had paid for him to get cleaned up and the day he died was his first day back on the streets. I guess he just couldn’t handle the same amount of drugs since he was clean and ODed.
I though you might be interested in seeing a photo of my daughter with Lin as you were there the day I left the Loft because I was pregnant. I can’t figure out how to get it on this site so please send an e-mail where I can forward it to you.
Ted says hi.!