James Reese Europe & Harlem Hellfighters 369th Regt. band |
Who would think that little U.S.A. would ever give to the
world a rhythm and melodies that, in the midst of such universal sorrow, would
cause all students of music to yearn to learn how to play it?
....I sometimes
think if the Kaiser ever heard a good syncopated melody he would not take
himself so seriously.*
--Noble
Sissle, drum major of the Harlem Hellfighters regimental band
James Reese Europe (more commonly known as “Jim Europe”) was
the first black bandleader to record in the United States and the first to
conduct a black orchestra performing ragtime/jazz music on the concert stage of
New York’s Carnegie Hall. He was also the
first black American officer to enter the trenches of the First World War, the
first to lead troops in combat in the war, and the first black American to be
given a public funeral in New York City.
And yet James Reese Europe is virtually unknown today, both for his
contributions to music and for his service in the First World War.
In 1916, before the United States entered the war, Jim
Europe joined the 15th Infantry Regiment of the New York National
Guard, explaining to a friend, “there has never been such an organization of
Negro men that will bring together all classes of men for a common good. And
our race will never amount to anything, politically or economically, in New
York or anywhere else unless there are strong organizations of men who stand
for something in the community.”**
Europe was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 15th
Infantry Regiment of the National Guard in December of 1916, and when the US
entered the war, his regiment (later known as the 369th or “Harlem
Hellfighters”) was assigned to the 92nd Division, one of only two
black military divisions that the segregated U.S. Army allowed to participate
in combat.***
He was trained as a machine-gunner, but
because Europe was one of the most popular bandleaders in America before the war, he
was also charged with forming the best military band in the U.S. Army.† Recruiting musicians from New York, Chicago, and Puerto Rico, he put together a military band
that some described as the best in the world.†† It is estimated that the Harlem Hellfighters regimental band traveled over
2,000 miles in France, performing for foreign dignitaries and military
commanders, wounded soldiers in hospitals, troops on recreational leave, French
citizens, and American Army Headquarters in Paris.
Europe is on the right |
In between
concerts, Lieutenant Europe was assigned to machine gun duty in the trenches on
the Western Front. Charles Welton, writing for the New York Age, said
that in addition to Europe “sowing jazz selections over the agricultural
terrain and bunching bits of it in the cantons en route,” the officer
also “did solo work with a machine gun forty times heavier than a
trombone, and actually got it working in syncopated time.” †††
In the spring of
1918, Europe participated in a French raid on German trenches. He described the
night raid to Noble Sissle, his friend and drum major of the Harlem Hellfighters' regimental band. Europe’s description is
rich with the sounds of the war as he remembered the din of artillery shells
whirring overhead that sounded “like a thousand pheasants,” the exploding shrapnel
“hizzing hither and thither,” the crack of an officer’s pistol firing a red
flare from his Very pistol, and “the excited yelling of our men, as they darted
first up one trench and down another, bombarding every nook and corner with
hand grenades.” Europe told Sissle, “I found everything last night that I ever
heard existed out there.” ††††
Injured in a gas
attack just weeks later, Europe used his time in the hospital to compose music;
among the songs he wrote while recuperating was “On Patrol in No Man’s Land.”° You can listen to the 1919 recording of the
song here.
On Patrol in No Man’s Land
Alright, boys, now
take it slow
Are you ready?
Steady!
Very good, Eddie.
Over the top, let's
go
Quiet, sly it, else
you'll start a riot
Keep your proper
distance, follow 'long
Cover, smother, when you see me hover
Obey my orders and
you won't go wrong
There's a minnenwerfer coming --
look out (bang!)
Hear that roar, there's one more
Stand fast, there's
a Very Light
Don't start to
bombing with those hand grenades
There's a machine
gun, holy spades!
Alert, gas! Put on
your masks
A-just it correctly
and hurry up fast
Drop! There's a rocket
for the Boche barrage
Down, hug the
ground,
close as you can,
don't stand
Creep and crawl,
follow me, that's all
What do you hear?
Nothing near
Don't fear, all is
clear
That's the life of
a stroll
When you take a
patrol
Out in No Man's
Land!
Ain't it grand?
Out in No Man's
Land.
--James Reese Europe
The song was
recorded on the Pathé label by Jim Europe and members of the 369th Infantry
Hellfighters band in March 1919, shortly after they returned from the war. It’s probable that the composition had been performed
in France: with band instruments simulating the sounds of machine gun fire,
artillery explosions, and gas raid sirens, the song communicates the danger of
battle while assuring its listeners that action on the front lines is a grand adventure not to be missed.
Advertisements for
the recording included personal testimonials:
One of the boys in our office went to war. On his return I asked him what American effort most impressed him and he answered JIM (Lieut.) EUROPE’S BAND. He said that the French and British bands would play and one would say to himself, “what beautiful music!” But when Europe’s band came along no one, whatever his race, could keep still. There was that pep, that something of life and animation that made everybody want to do something.°°
One of the boys in our office went to war. On his return I asked him what American effort most impressed him and he answered JIM (Lieut.) EUROPE’S BAND. He said that the French and British bands would play and one would say to himself, “what beautiful music!” But when Europe’s band came along no one, whatever his race, could keep still. There was that pep, that something of life and animation that made everybody want to do something.°°
Lt. James R. Europe |
Before leaving for
the war, John Love, personal secretary to the wealthy Wanamaker family of
Philadelphia and a professional acquaintance of Europe, had tried to dissuade
him from overseas service. In the summer of 1917, Europe had undergone
emergency surgery for health complications related to Grave’s Disease, and Love
argued that Europe would be entitled to a medical exemption. Jim Europe
replied, “if I could, I would not. My country calls me and I must answer; and
if I live to come back, I will startle the world with my music.” °°°
Tragically, in
early May of 1919, just months after the New York City Homecoming Parade, Jim
Europe was killed backstage during a concert in Boston by a disgruntled
musician who was later declared mentally unfit to stand trial. Notable jazz
musician Eubie Blake was Jim Europe’s business partner and friend. Later in life, as he recalled the legacy of James Reese Europe, Blake said,
People don’t realize
yet today what we lost when we lost Jim Europe. He was the savior of Negro
musicians. He was in a class with Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King.
I met all three of them. Before Europe, Negro musicians were just like
wandering minstrels…. Before Jim, they weren’t even supposed to be human
beings. Jim Europe changed all
that. He made a profession for us out of
music. All of that we owe to Jim. If only people would realize it. °°°°
* Quoted
in Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War
(1919), by Emmet J. Scott, p. 309.
** Noble Sissle’s Memoirs of Lieutenant
‘Jim’ Europe, quoted in Reid Badger’s excellent biography of James Reese Europe,
A Life in Ragtime, 1995, p. 142.
*** For more information, see the article “Fighting
for Respect: African-American Soldiers in WWI” by Jami Bryan.
† Badger, A Life in Ragtime, p. 143.
†† New York Times, May 12, 1919, cited in
Badger, A Life in Ragtime, p. 7.
††† Quoted in Scott’s Official History, p.
306.
†††† Sissle’s Memoirs, cited in Badger’s A Life in Ragtime, pp. 181-182.
° The sheet music credits the song to James Europe, Noble Sissle, and Eubie
Blake. Blake has said he had no part in writing the music but was credited for
the song because “because that’s the kind of partners they were.” Sissle’s
memoir on Europe’s life recounts visiting Jim Europe in the hospital and hearing
Europe’s greeting: “Gee, I am glad to see you boys! Sissle, here’s a wonderful
idea for a song that just came to me, in fact it was [from the] experience that
I had last night during the bombardment that nearly knocked me out.” Cited in Badger’s
A Life in Ragtime, p. 187.
°° Talking
Machine World, June 15, 1919. Cited in Tim Brooks’ Lost Sounds: Blacks
and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919, p. 285.
°°° From John Love’s letter to Noble Sissle dated
28 January, 1920 and included in Sissle’s Memoirs. Cited in Badger’s A
Life in Ragtime, p. 154.
°°°° From Eubie Blake, by Al Rose. Cited
in Brooks’ Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry,
1890-1919, p. 291.
No comments:
Post a Comment