Music Reconstructed: Jason Moran, Jazz and the Harlem Hellfighters – w/ Charles L. Hughes
Teaching Hard History
Learning for Justice
4.2 • 588 Ratings
🗓️ 23 February 2022
⏱️ 22 minutes
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Summary
This is a special four-part series where historian Charles L. Hughes introduces us to musicians who are exploring the sounds, songs and stories of the Jim Crow era. In this installment, Jazz pianist Jason Moran discusses his acclaimed musical celebration of a man he calls "Big Bang of Jazz," bandleader, arranger and composer James Reese Europe. During World War I, Europe fought as a Lieutenant with the fabled "Harlem Hellfighters" 369th U.S. Infantry and directed the regiment's renowned band.
Watch his Kennedy Center performance and discover more about his Jason Moran's meditation on James Reese Europe.
Learn more about Black military service during Jim Crow in episode 409 – Black Soldiers: Global Conflict During Jim Crow with Adriane Lentz-Smith.
And for even more resources, check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode on our website.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Jazz, America's most original sound, was born during the Jim Crow era. |
| 0:06.7 | And whether we're studying the Great Migration, World War I, or the Harlem Renaissance, |
| 0:12.2 | we can use jazz to deepen our understanding of Jim Crow. |
| 0:18.9 | I'm Hassan Kwame-Jephreries, and this is Music Reconstructed from Teaching Hard History. |
| 0:26.6 | When music is rethought, re-mixed, and reimagined, that takes research, |
| 0:33.6 | and the results can reveal insights into history for educators and students. |
| 0:40.3 | In this special four-part series, music expert and historian Charles Hughes brings us conversations with contemporary musicians |
| 0:50.3 | who are exploring the sounds, songs, and stories of the Jim Crow era through their music. |
| 1:01.0 | You may remember James Rees Europe from our discussion of the Harlem Hell Fighters in our ninth episode of this season. |
| 1:13.6 | Europe was a lieutenant who fought with the fabled 369th U.S. infantry during World War I. |
| 1:22.6 | He also organized and directed their acclaimed regimental band. |
| 1:30.0 | In this episode, Charles introduces us to pianist Jason Moran, who has been revisiting |
| 1:37.0 | the work of James Rees Europe, the renowned band leader, arranger and composer. |
| 1:46.3 | Here's Charles. |
| 2:02.8 | This week's guest is Jason Moran, a musician and composer and visual artist and educator and curator, whose work fits so, so perfectly within the mission of teaching hard history. It would be impossible for me to list all of his accomplishments and accolades. But just know that for over |
| 2:09.7 | 25 years, he has been putting out acclaimed albums. He's been composing scores for films, |
| 2:15.9 | including Ava Duvonnez Selma and 13th. He's taught at the |
| 2:20.6 | Manhattan School of Music. He's been the recipient of honors, including a MacArthur Fellowship. |
| 2:26.7 | He's currently the artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center. And his current work |
| 2:32.6 | about the great African-American composer and band leader James |
| 2:36.6 | Reese Europe is really why we wanted to spotlight him within this season. Moran not only thinks |
| 2:45.1 | about the sounds and the histories of Black Life in the early 20th century, but he also uses jazz as a process to help learn from |
... |
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