The Harlem Hellfighters
On January 1, 1918, when the 369th Infantry arrived in Brittany, they were not only the first African American regiment to fight for the US Army during the Great War but also became the first people to take jazz across the Atlantic. The Harlem Hellfighters, a ragtime band that was part of this regiment, was led by Lieutenant James Reese Europe then America’s best-known black bandleader who went on to entertain troops all over Europe before returning home as a hero.
Texan pianist Jason Moran and his trio were so taken with this story that they have assembled a seven-piece British horn section to play Jim Europe’s music. The jerky two-step tunes played by the Hellfighters are rendered faithfully except for one small twist: these orchestrations are avant-trad mash-ups in the manner of Ornette Coleman.
What this means is that an alternative history of jazz has been painted, one which stops at 1920 and goes straight into free improv without bothering with half a century’s worth of swing or bebop. Moran lurches from intense ragtime into jabbering improvisations; his horns freak out too, often playing an incredible succession of sounds that resemble nothing so much as a tape being rewound.
The problem with this show is its multimedia component. In its final five minutes or so, some fascinating newsreel footage appears on screen above the band showing the Hellfighters returning to New York after their time in Europe; until then we have been subjected to irritating and irrelevant abstract black-and white images that do nothing but detract from the music.
Jim Europe was killed by one of his band members a few months after WWI ended; tragically, he took with him his dream of creating symphonic ragtime. But Moran keeps alive the spirit without ever embalming it.
Watch The Harlem Hellfighters For Free On Solarmovies.