Badger's biography of James Reese Europe is a fascinating read for all curious about the early history of jazz in New York City. It also encompasses black Americans in World War I and black musical theater and performance in the first two decades of 20th century New York City. After reading the biography, it becomes clear how Europe was a key figure in the early development of jazz as it transitioned from ragtime. His leadership skills and desire to elevate the status of black musicians led to the formation of the Clef Club, a central booking agency and labor union for black musicians which led to more opportunities for African American musicians in the 1910s.
The Clef Club and Tempo Club orchestras and bands also were a fertile crossroads for various currents in black popular music of the era, combining those with musical theater experience, vaudeville circuit pasts, ragtime and dance musicians across the New York area. Europe's ability to arrange for large orchestras also earns him the distinction of being the first leader of a proto-big band, even if one takes issue with the use of the term jazz to describe Europe's music before the Harlem Hellfighters. Performing compositions by black songwriters, including Ford Dabney, William Tyers, Will Marion Cook and Europe himself, also showed the degree to which Europe promoted black composers as well as performers, subverting the stereotype that blacks couldn't write music.
In terms of the transition from ragtime to jazz, Europe's band played a pivotal role in the rise of the fox-trot and jazz dance. His partnership with Vernon and Irene Castle led to the creation of the fox-trot by adapting Handy's "Memphis Blues" to a slow dance. This, in turn, shows the central importance of blues to early jazz, something Europe incorporated into his music when accompanying the Castles. Although definitely not the first musician to incorporate blue notes and structures into his band, Europe was one of the early bandleaders in New York to incorporate brass and woodwinds into what was previously strings-dominated orchestras (harp-guitar, mandolin, banjos, etc.).
Their syncopated approach with the addition of slurred notes, blues elements, and prominent drums (Buddy Gilmore, in particular) must have shocked and enthralled audiences. These sounds he carried with him to France, where he led the 15th Infantry Regiment Band to mesmerized audiences, impressing both French, European, and US listeners. The addition of Puerto Rican musicians for this band also led to some of the earliest Latino jazz musicians, although "Latin" music was long part of the repertoire of various bands Europe led (tango and "Latin" pieces by Tyers and others). While the distinction between jazz and ragtime wasn't clear to all listeners, it was clear Europe's music was something new to a variety of audiences. He was undoubtedly one of the first international proponents of what became "jazz," performing "Memphis Blues" in Europe along with military band music.
Europe's belief in the uplift of the "race" also deserves mention. Badger's biography illustrates, through the testimony of those who knew Europe and published interviews with the bandleader, how he saw his own music and efforts for black musicians as part of the elevation of African Americans. Instead of following his younger sister, Mary, who became a respected concert pianist in Washington, D.C., Europe endeavored to avoid the binary of "high" and low" while performing pieces reflecting spirituals, ragtime, blues, proto-jazz, and classical music. Europe's eclecticism reflected the various influences upon his own development as a musician, from marches he heard in DC to the ragtime and musicals he performed with during his first decade in New York.
Just as future generations of jazz musicians struggled to escape the limitations placed upon the genre as simple entertainment or low "popular" music, Europe's ambitions for a National Negro Orchestra which would play "Negro" music illustrates his belief in the importance of developing a black musical aesthetic that is just as valid as any other. His joining the 15th Infantry Regiment during WWI was also linked to his racial politics, as he saw a strong organization of black men as a model for Harlem. The military band he was able to form, with additional outside funding, established a reputation for the black New York regiment in France. According to Noble Sissle, the band also helped the regiment with recruitment in New York, attracting audiences.
While Europe subscribed to some of the notions popular of his era, such as black musicians having a natural inclination to rhythm, his views on the potential for black popular music are unique in that he did not limit the aesthetic brilliance of black music to spirituals or "sorrow songs." Black music, rooted in the past, also had future routes, one of which was jazz. Unlike Coleridge-Taylor, Europe saw the value in black popular music, which was something to cultivate rather than ignore. Undoubtedly, Europe's central place in the favorable conditions leading to jazz ensure him a place in the music's pantheon, as well as New York City's centrality to its rise and development. Unfortunately, we have no recordings of Europe's early renditions of "Memphis Blues," which must have been interesting musically as pre-1917 early jazz.
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