This is Fresh Air, I'm Terry Gross. Joining me at the piano is a terrific musician and composer, Jason Moran.

The first time I interviewed him in 2005, when Moran was 30, I quoted our jazz critic, Kevin Whitehead,

who called him one of those rare up-and-comers who makes you optimistic for the future of jazz.

Well, Moran is no longer an up-and-comer, and he certainly fulfilled his promise.

He's making exciting recordings that draw on the early years of jazz as well as the avant-garde.

He's the Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz, and he curated the permanent exhibition

in the new Louis Armstrong Center in Queens, New York, which is across the street from Armstrong's

preserved home. He also teaches at the New England Conservatory of Music. Moran composes music

and has also put his own spin on the works of early jazz pianists and composers, including

That's Waller and James P. Johnson. His new album is a tribute to James Reese Europe,

an important but little-remembered figure in jazz history. In the early 1900s, Europe

led his own band and founded the Clef Club, which functioned like a union for black musicians.

He was the music director for the then-famous dance duo Vernon and Irene Castle.

In World War I, Europe joined the army and fought with the 369th regiment of the infantry,

known as the Harlem Hell Fighters. He also led a regiment band that combined military music

and syncopation, creating a new sound. Jason Moran's new album is called From the Dance Hall

to the Battlefield, and it features Moran's take on James Reese Europe's compositions

and pop music of that time. It's available only on Bandcamp for streaming or download.

Jason Moran is joining us from the studios of WNYC in New York. Jason, welcome back to the show

It's so exciting to have you with the piano and to have you back. Oh, it's a pleasure smiling

like crazy. Oh, great. So the first thing I want to do is play some music. So first I want to play

James Reese Europe from like the 19 teens, I think it's like the late 19 teens playing the castle house

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