American soldier and
jazzman (1881-1919). Born in
Mobile, Alabama to a pair of
musicians, which seems to have sealed his future fate. The family moved to
Washington, DC, when James was ten years old, and he studied
violin with
Enrico Herlei, the assistant director of the
United States Marine Corps Band. At 14, he entered a
music-writing contest and placed second, behind his sister Mary. In 1905, he was living in
New York City, playing in clubs, and writing for a group called the Memphis Students. Years later,
George Gershwin remembered that, when he was just seven years old, he used to sit on the curb outside a
Harlem nightclub and listen to Europe play
piano.
In 1910, Europe founded the
Clef Club, a musicians'
union/
fraternal organization for
African-Americans. The Club owned a building in New York that served both as a
booking office for musicians seeking jobs and as a
concert hall for the club's
symphony orchestra, conducted by Europe. The
Clef Club Orchestra employed up to 150 musicians, though it was said that not all the musicians on stage could actually play
instruments -- some even had fake instruments to make sure they wouldn't mess up the
performance for the real musicians. The Orchestra was very
popular -- they played
Carnegie Hall three times in three years, and the musicians were able to get paying
gigs in New York,
London,
Paris, and elsewhere around the world.
While working with the Clef Club, Europe also worked as the
band leader for a pair of famous
dancers,
Vernon and Irene Castle. While with the Castles, Europe helped popularize the
foxtrot and was one of the first band leaders to use the
saxophone, originally a
novelty instrument, as an important part of a
jazz ensemble.
Europe enlisted in the
army at the start of
World War I, and, after passing the officer's exam, was asked by his commander to form a
military band as part of his combat unit, which was composed solely of
Blacks. When the unit arrived in
France on
January 1, 1918, it was the first African-American combat unit ever in France and was soon nicknamed the
Hellfighters by the French for their
bravery. The band performed to popular acclaim for
troops and
citizens all over France. Europe wrote
music throughout the war, composing songs like "
On Patrol in No Man's Land". For most French people, it was their first exposure to
jazz.
Beginning in August 1918, Europe and his band performed in Paris for eight weeks. They performed by themselves and with a number of
French,
British, and
Italian marching bands. Many of the European musicians believed the
Americans were playing
tricked-out instruments -- they saw no way that a normal instrument could play the sounds that Europe and his band played.
Europe and his band returned to New York on February 12, 1919. They were met with
parades,
medals, and enthusiastic
praise from Blacks and Whites alike. They began a highly-
successful tour of the country, and Europe began plans for a future career as a full-time
jazz musician. However, during the
intermission of the band's final
concert of the tour in
Boston on May 9, 1919, Europe was
stabbed to death by a fellow musician,
Herbert Wright, who was upset with Europe's strict direction.
Europe was buried with full military honors in
Arlington National Cemetery. Years later,
Eubie Blake described him as "the
Martin Luther King of
music."