Europe, James Reese
Europe, James Reese
Europe, James Reese, famed pre-jazz bandleader, pianist, violinist; b. Mobile, Ala., Feb. 22, 1881; d. Boston, May 10, 1919. One of the most celebrated musicians of his day, he recorded arrangements of ragtime and dance numbers between 1913 and 1919, with perhaps a bit of improvisation, that provide an important picture of the music that was around while jazz was developing. His family moved to Washington, D.C., when he was 10. He studied music there, and first went to N.Y. in 1904. He toured as musical director for traveling shows, then organized the New Amsterdam Musical Association in N.Y. (1906), and subsequently formed the Clef Club Orch. Through the 1910s he led his own “Society Orch/7 which accompanied dancers Vernon and Irene Castle in “Watch Your Step” (1912). Then, as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army he directed the 369th infantry Regiment Band, known as The Hell-Fighters, which toured Europe during World War I. The band returned to the U.S.A. in February 1919 and began a triumphant tour of American cities. During a performance in Boston, Europe was stabbed while in his dressing-room by a snare-drummer in the band, Private Herbert Wright. He died shortly afterwards.
Discography
Featuring Noble Sissle (1919); James Reese Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment Band (1919).
Bibliography
R. Badger, A Life in Ragtime; The Biography of James Reese Europe (N.Y, 1995).
—John Chilton/Lewis Porter