So where do you see James Reese Europe fitting into the history of jazz? Because, you know, one of the things I love about his music is that the drumming often has, like, a military sound to it, like, the drum rolls. Thank you so much.Īnd that's music with his whole band that's on Jason Moran's new album, "From The Dance Hall To The Battlefield." But he's performing this for us at the piano at the studio of WNYC in New York. So this is my version of "Castle House Rag." (Playing piano). So I try to move it through a bunch of different moods over the next two minutes. And then by the end, it becomes an anthem more about a kind of solitude, too. But I wanted to kind of plant it with a little bit of, you know, house music - bass notes. And James has this simple phrase in the right hand - (imitating drum beat). I think just for, you know, for all civilizations, we need phrases to repeat. MORAN: Well, you know, like I said before, repetition is so important. So, Jason, let's hear your interpretation of it. GROSS: So that was James Reese Europe's band from, like, the late 19-teens, doing his composition, the "Castle House Rag." And Jason Moran's new album is devoted to the music of James Reese Europe. (SOUNDBITE OF JAMES REESE EUROPE'S "CASTLE HOUSE RAG") It's a really early recording, so it's not going to sound like what you're used to, but, you know, try to get past that and just really listen to the music and not to the recording quality. And I want to say to our listeners, it's a very old recording. And it seems like, you know, it's a galloping song that's about to go out of control, but it's so contained, too, in its energy. There's something about the repetition of that first phrase, and it's just a driving beat. And then there's this phrasing, you know, knowing that James Reese Europe becomes one of the pivotal forces of dance music, there's something driving about it that the way I hear it now is I hear it related to house music or techno music. It's like some other kind of contraption from the early 1900s. It's like they're not necessarily playing drums or cymbals. MORAN: You know, in this recording, there's something so raw about the percussion. And I should say, I really love James Reese Europe's music. So tell us what you'd like us to listen for in this recording. So first I want to play some of the recording, and then we'll hear your interpretation of it at the piano. So first I want to play James Reese Europe from, like, the 19-teens - I think it was, like, the late 19-teens, playing the "Castle House Rag." And the Castle refers to the dance duo Vernon and Irene Castle. So the first thing I want to do is play some music. It's so exciting to have you at the piano and to have you back. Moran joined us from the studio of WNYC in New York. When we spoke, it was available only on Bandcamp for streaming or download. Jason Moran's album "From The Dance Hall To The Battlefield," features Moran's take on James Reese Europe's compositions and pop music of that time. He also led a regiment band that combined military music and syncopation, creating a new sound. In World War I, Europe joined the Army and fought with the 369th Regiment of the infantry known as the Harlem Hellfighters. He was the music director for the then-famous dance duo Vernon and Irene Castle. In the early 1900s, Europe led his own band and founded the Clef Club, which functioned like a union for Black musicians. He has a recent album that's a tribute to James Reese Europe, an important but little-remembered figure in jazz history. He composes music and has also put his own spin on the works of early jazz pianists and composers, including Fats Waller and James P. Moran also teaches at the New England Conservatory of Music. He's the Kennedy Center artistic director for jazz, and he curated the permanent exhibition in the new Louis Armstrong Center in Queens, N.Y., which is across the street from Armstrong's preserved home. He's making exciting recordings that draw on the early roots of jazz, as well as the avant-garde. The first time I interviewed him in 2005, when Moran was 30, I quoted our jazz critic, Kevin Whitehead, who called Moran "one of those rare up-and-comers who makes you optimistic for the future of jazz." Moran is no longer an up-and-comer, and he certainly fulfilled his promise. In August, Jason Moran, a terrific musician and composer, joined us at the piano. For the holiday, we're going to feature one of my favorite recent FRESH AIR episodes. I hope you're enjoying this Thanksgiving Day.
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