The Father of Early Jazz: James Reese Europe

In 2020, I published A Map of Jazz: Crossroads of Music and Human Rights (WS Publishing), a book that looks at the culture of jazz on a timeline with cultures of the world. At more than 500 pages, the book is incomplete by necessity; there is no well-marked path, and the history is sometimes nebulous. However, as a map and as jazz music, it leads to unfamiliar places. The series Backstories dives deeper into people and places along the genre's blue highways.

Mobile, Alabama, in the 19th century, was different from all southern cities in the U.S., with the exception of New Orleans. Alabama had been a colony of France, England, and Spain, respectively, for more than 100 years before the U.S. Congress created the Alabama Territory in 1817. Descendants of French and Spanish settlers and the Dahomey people of West Africa who arrived as slaves assimilated to a greater extent than in other regions of the South.

Mobile's integration and blending of international cultures paved the way for numerous Creoles of color to establish themselves and become economically prosperous. The city's inhabitants were less disposed to day-to-day racial tensions. Still, there was no mistaking that Mobile was in the deepest part of the Deep South and with an economy dependent on cotton and slaves. In Mobile's social and political experiments, extremes were always present. A city of some "firsts," it was, by virtue of geography, a critical hub for early trade on the southern Mississippi River. By the mid-19th century, Mobile's cotton-driven business community had expanded to include New York City businessmen, accounting for 10% of the city's population and representative of covert Northern funding of slavery. In 1830, Mobile held the first Carnival mystic society to celebrate with a parade decades before the first Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans. The secretive mystic societies of Mobile were the forerunners and equivalent of krewes in New Orleans.

The Civil War had been over less than fifteen years when James Reese Europe was born in 1880. His mother was a second-generation "free-born" African American, and his father was a former slave who went on to study law at Howard University. Both parents were musical and had similar cultural and professional ambitions for their children. Europe discovered the piano in a region whose music was dominated by fiddles. Mobile's Reconstruction era suffered through a deteriorating economy, and institutions did not support the aspirations of people of color. Europe's father, Henry, accepted a government job in 1889 and moved the family to Washington, D.C. Living in the same neighborhood as Marine Corps Band conductor John Philip Sousa allowed James and his sister Mary to study with Sousa's assistant. The Europe siblings thrived in their musical environment, both winning citywide competitions.

At the turn of the century, James and his brother John—also a musician—moved to New York City, where positions for theater musicians were plentiful. The African Grove Theater, Marshall Hotel, and Lincoln Theatre were prominent venues for Black musicals rivaling Broadway in content and quality. Not content with simply being a pianist, Europe demonstrated a head for business and activism. In 1908, he founded The Frogs, an organization of African American producers and performers aimed at changing the portrayal of Blacks on the stage. He was a prominent advocate for Black musicians, founding the Clef Club Orchestra in 1910, a groundbreaking all-Black musicians' union and performance group. It provided professional opportunities for Black musicians and introduced concert audiences (including at Carnegie Hall in 1912) to syncopated music on a grand scale, helping legitimize African American music in elite circles. The orchestra used non-traditional jazz instruments, such as mandolins and banjos, reflecting African American folk traditions. Europe obtained one of the first recording contracts for a Black orchestra on the Pathѐ label in 1919. He became the musical director for the internationally famous dance duo Vernon and Irene Castle, who popularized social dances like the foxtrot. His association with them helped spread syncopated African American music to White audiences and encouraged a fusion of jazz elements into dance music, making it more fluid and expressive. Europe showed that jazz-based rhythms could structure mainstream popular music, setting the stage for the Jazz Age of the 1920s. His compositions for the Castles, such as "Castle House Rag," demonstrated a sophisticated blend of military precision, syncopation, slurred notes, and improvisation. Irene Castle would later credit Europe as the first artist to..."take jazz out of the saloons and make it respectable. All the men in his orchestra could read music, a rarity in those days." The May 1919 issue of the New York Clipper called Europe's ensemble "the forerunner of modern jazz." At its peak, Europe's orchestra included Noble Sissle (1889-1975) and Eubie Blake (1887-1983).

When World War I began, James Reese Europe joined the Army National Guard as a second lieutenant and was assigned to organize a band for the 369th Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters—a segregated unit that served with the French Army. They introduced early jazz to Europeans, particularly in France, where Théâtre des Champs-Élysées audiences embraced its rhythmic energy. The band's energetic performances helped globalize jazz, influencing European musicians who later contributed to jazz's development. Europe's wartime compositions merged African American rhythms with marching band music, foreshadowing the swing era. His "Memphis Blues" and "The Jazz Baby" arrangements were among the first jazz-influenced compositions heard overseas. In 1918, Europe was injured during a gas attack. Upon their return to New York in 1919, Europe and his regiment were honored with a victory parade. They turned north on Lenox Avenue and into the history of African American New York in the city's first-ever public honoring of the accomplishments of people of color.

After being honored in New York, Reese and his orchestra embarked on a national tour, performing concerts that showcased their unique music. These performances were crucial in spreading jazz across America after its European exposure during the war.

On May 9, 1919, the band arrived in Boston for a performance at the Mechanics Hall. During the concert preparations, Europe got into a dispute with one of his drummers, Herbert Wright, over a minor band-related disagreement. A local newspaper reported: "Europe, who was standing in the wings while the band was playing a selection, called out to Wright, 'Hey, put more pep into the sticks.' Wright left his drums and walked hastily over to Europe who retreated to his dressing room. Wright followed him, and after some words, the police alleged he drew a knife and slashed Europe in the neck. Wright was arrested."

Despite being injured, Europe reportedly remained calm and was taken to a hospital. At first, it seemed the wound was not life-threatening. However, the knife had severed a major artery, and Europe succumbed to excessive blood loss shortly after being admitted. His untimely death shocked the music world, as he was at the height of his career and poised to lead jazz into new frontiers. He was 38.

Europe's funeral in New York was a massive event, attended by thousands, including prominent Black musicians, military personnel, and cultural leaders. His death marked a significant loss for early jazz, as he had been one of the first composers and conductors to elevate African American music to a significant artistic and popular level.

James Reese Europe occupies a unique position in jazz history, suspended between ragtime and jazz. A number of jazz connoisseurs passed over Europe's influence, arguing that he was over-educated and his ideas were too academic. He is frequently regarded as a multipurpose entertainer with a great talent for writing and arranging for large ensembles more than for what his improvising contributed to smaller formations. His improvisational style is often regarded as a fundamental aspect of authentic jazz, as demonstrated by early jazz legends such as Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver , and Louis Armstrong. Prominent musicologist Ekkehard Jost (Free Jazz (Da Capo Press, 1974)) and historian Rainer Lotz recognize Europe's more significant role in defining modern jazz. Gunther Schuller called Europe "the most important transitional figure in the pre-history of jazz on the East Coast" (in Early Jazz, 249). Europe's music was a critical link between the structured syncopation of ragtime and the improvisational nature of jazz. While ragtime was largely piano-based and composed, Europe expanded its scope by arranging it for large ensembles, introducing dynamic instrumentation and a freer rhythmic feel. His bands incorporated syncopated brass, reeds, and percussion in ways that prefigured the jazz big band era.

Europe's sophisticated arrangements expanded the possibilities for jazz ensembles, showing how brass, reeds, and percussion could interact in stimulating, dynamic ways. His use of West African rhythmic elements and drumming techniques anticipated jazz's evolving rhythmic complexity, and his use of syncopation and call-and-response became defining elements of jazz, reinforcing the music's African American roots.

References

• Brooks, Tim (2004). Lost sounds: Blacks and the birth of the recording industry, 1890-1919. University of Illinois Press.
• Lincoln Center
• Rediscovering Black History
• VA News
• Cook, Susan C. 1989. "Jazz as Deliverance: The Reception and Institution of American Jazz during the Weimar Republic." American Music, Spring
• Badger, R. Reid. 1989. "James Reese Europe and the Prehistory of Jazz." American Music.
• Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development by Gunther Schuller, Oxford University Press, 1968

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