JAMES Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters are names you would think would be easy to remember, yet the man once described as the Martin Luther King of music is in danger of being forgotten. He was the musician who introduced jazz and black culture to Europeans and, in recognition of this, his music is being honoured by a major new project from renowned composer, pianist and visual artist Jason Moran.
A series of concerts are to be performed in the UK and the United States as part of the project, with Paisley selected as the only Scottish date next Sunday, November 4. After performing at the Barbican in London, Moran will bring his trio The Bandwagon – hailed by the New York Times as “the best rhythm section in jazz” – and UK players from the Tomorrow’s Warriors stable to Paisley Arts Centre for the celebration of Europe’s legacy.
The performance, which was jointly commissioned by 14-18 NOW, the Kennedy Centre in Washington and Serious music, will include contributions from filmmaker John Akomfrah and cinematographer Bradford Young.
Speaking to The National from his home in Harlem, Moran said he was looking forward to coming to Paisley for the first time.
“Jazz is now over 100 years old, starting in America and spreading across the globe and one of its main roots is James Reese Europe,” he said. “Somehow he is a forgotten character but at the turn of the 20th century he was leading the charge of fearless innovation and far beyond everybody. What he brought to jazz and its future was tremendous.”
Europe's self-professed publicist, Jason Moran
WHAT DID HE DO?
WHILE Europe had become well known in New York as a musician it was the First World War and the Harlem Hellfighters that really popularised his music outside the United States.
Born in 1880, he was a leading American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, becoming a key figure in the African American music scene at the turn of the century.
He made history in 1912 when he led the first band to play proto-jazz at Carnegie Hall. One commentator said: “He stormed the bastion of the white establishment and made many members of New York’s cultural elite aware of Negro music for the first time.”
Europe’s unwillingness to fit in with musical conventions and insistence on playing his own kind of music attracted some criticism, however.
He responded: “My success had come from a realisation of the advantages of sticking to the music of my own people. We colored people have our own music that is part of us. It’s the product of our souls, created by the sufferings and miseries of our race.”
AND THE HELLFIGHTERS?
IN 1917, the US entered the First World War and shortly after the 369th Infantry Regiment was formed. It later became known as the Harlem Hellfighters because most of the troops were New Yorkers from Harlem. Like their predecessors in the Civil War and in subsequent wars, these soldiers fought for a country that refused them their basic rights. However they believed that by fighting bravely, their deeds would stand as a rebuke to racism.
Europe was recruited to form a military band for the unit and the regiment arrived in France on the first day of 1918, with the musicians surprising the French civilians and soldiers with their jazz version of La Marseillaise.
At first, the black troops were consigned to unloading ships and cleaning latrines but, as the French and British were crying out for reinforcements, the US decided to reassign them to the French who, unlike the white Americans, were happy to fight alongside them.
Their leader William Hayward said: “A fairy tale has materialised. We are now a combat unit. Our great American general simply put the black orphan in a basket, set it on the doorstep of the French, pulled the bell and went away.”
WHAT HAPPENED THEN?
THE regiment went on to become distinguished in battle and two of their number, Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts, were the first American soldiers to receive the French Croix de Guerre.
The 369th went on to win more medals from the French than any other American unit.
Meanwhile, Europe’s band was also finding fame, touring army camps and French towns.
“This kick-started the relationship France has with jazz,” said Moran. “They really did go crazy over the music as he was showcasing a new sound.”
He added: “People like him need to have their names said frequently so they are not forgotten. History fades things but Beethoven and Bach do not fade – they have great publicists.
“Right now I am being James Reese Europe’s publicist by diving into his music and what it meant for African American soldiers and what it meant to fight for a country that didn’t necessarily give the soldiers their rights.
“For African Americans it was quite a potent step when the Harlem Hellfighters and James Reese Europe showed up to fight and also brought their music with them.
“That music went on to transform the history of music and to say the name James Reese Europe 100 years later is really powerful.”
DID HE CHANGE ATTITUDES?
AS reports of the regiment and the band’s success had reached the United States, they came back to a huge welcome in the US and went on to tour the country.
Tragically, Europe was stabbed to death on the last night of the tour by his drummer who was possibly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after the war.
“It was a terrible irony that he survived the war then died like this,” said Moran.
New York gave him the first major public funeral for an African American and the New York Times summed up the mood of many by stating the loss was “incalculable”.
Moran says he is both nervous and excited about the project to celebrate his music.
“It is a big honour to tackle something this large but it is a way of keeping his name in circulation which is necessary,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to bringing it to Paisley.”
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