James Reese Europe lead the 369th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Harlem Hellfighters, in World War I and was notably credited for being the ambassador of Jazz from the United States. The bandleader was already a famous African-American musician and when it was time to serve his country in 1918, he naturally had the Harlem men in his service bring along their musical instruments which would introduce ragtime music to Britain and France. The Jazz Age would officially start the following year after the war was over and Mr. Europe's style of ragtime would be the predecessor to the music that would take over the city in the next decade. Harlem is now very popular with French tourists and one can trace this romanticism all the way back to when the Hellfighters played for the first time overseas.
Wonderful Story...Never heard of him !! Thanks !
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally, the NYT ran an obituary last week on William Miles, a native Harlemite whose first film was about the 369th Regiment. According to the obit, the 369th fought under the French flag due to U.S. segregation policies.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/movies/william-miles-maker-of-documentaries-about-black-history-dies-at-82.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0