JF Ptak Science Books Quick Post
This is an absolutely fantastic portrait of James Reese Europe (188-1919)--the "Martin Luther King of Music" according to Eubie Blake--showing him as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1917/18. Europe enlisted in the 15th National Guard Regiment, in Harlem, and arrived overseas on January 1, 1918, the conductor of a military orchestra. The 15th was eventually re-mobilized as the 369th, better know as "The Hell Fighters" and "The Harlem Hell Fighters", and which served with very high distinction.
I'm posting this because I like Europe, and this is just a hands-down get-out-of-my-way portrait of the man.
[Source: http://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200038842/}
Here's a cover of one of Europe's pieces of sheet music:
[Source: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/media/loc.natlib.ihas.200202032/0001.tif/3898]
And in keeping with the portrait above, a study from the music:
Also, here's a recording made by Europe and found at the Library of Congress National Jukebox: "The Castles in Europe", Europe's Society Orchestra, 1914http://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox.3728/
...with more streaming audio from the Library of Congress here: http://www.loc.gov/search/?in=&q=%22james+reese+europe%22&new=true
Lastly, and again from the L.C., here is the full text of the not-published Memoir of Lieutenant "Jim" Europe, by Noble Lee Sissle, completed in 1942. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/aaodyssey:@field(NUMBER+@band(musmisc+ody0717))
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