Syncopated Brass Bands 4
Into the 1920s, "ragtime" and "jazz" existed as synonyms for instrumental music based on earlier piano rags, ragtime songs, and original material orchestrated for dance bands. However, by the end of the 1920s, jazz had become dominant and represented new musical models, practices, and dances. In answer to whether his music was jazz, Europe stated that "his men played the music strictly as it was written-that is, with regard for accuracy of pitch and note values" (Southern 1997, 353). But according to Southern, he did go on to further state that he admitted to introducing specific innovations:
![Lieutenant James [Reese] Europe and his famous band of the 369th Infantry in the parade in Fifth Ave.](https://dev-omc2.s3.amazonaws.com/232/images/1640774878oaam_u3_l10_369thInfantry.jpg)
With the brass instrument we put in mutes and make a whirling motion with the tongue, at the same time blowing full pressure. With wind instruments we pinch the mouthpiece and blow hard. This produces the peculiar sound which you all know. To us it is not discordant…we accent strongly this manner the notes which originally would be without accent. It is natural for us to do this; it is, indeed, a racial musical characteristic. I have to call a daily rehearsal of my band to prevent the musicians from adding to their music more than I wish them to. Whenever possible they all embroider their parts in order to produce new, peculiar sounds.
(Southern 1997, 354)
Jason Moran, Artistic Director of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, states that James Reese Europe:
wrote [musical works] not only for the military band, but he wrote [compositions] for 100 musicians to be played at Carnegie Hall, he wrote pieces for dancers, he wrote songs to invigorate African Americans to understand their cultural worth, and to develop a union based around their music and their musicianship. He was a real instigator, a real activist, a powerful musician who also wanted to share his music by virtue of going to the war.
(The Kennedy Center 2018)
James Reese Europe's legacy cannot be overestimated. His syncopated brass band compositions embraced and took on Scott Joplin's ragtime musical elements and laid the musical foundations for what would eventually lead to jazz which also influenced race relations.
James Reese Europe's 369th Hellfighters Band
The racial and social circumstances surrounding the life and work of James Reese Europe provided him a unique opportunity to use his music as a sociological factor in breaking down barriers that contributed to social alienation and racial tensions that plagued the United States for much of its early history. As precursor to the formulation of jazz as a distinctly American art form, James Reese Europe played a significant role in the development and acceptance of the genre. As jazz became more popular, this music influenced race relations in American culture as Black and White musicians embraced this style with great enthusiasm
("James Reese Europe" 2018)