James Reese Europe is one of the most important transitional figures in American music. As a composer and band leader at the height of ragtime, he had a strong influence on the first generation of jazz musicians who were to follow. Europe's life reveals much about the role of black musicians in American culture in a period when it was presumed they had little place.
James Reese Europe is one of the most important transitional figures in American music. As a composer and band leader at the height of ragtime, he had a strong influence on the first generation of jazz musicians who were to follow. Europe's life reveals much about the role of black musicians in American culture in a period when it was presumed they had little place.
