When the 369th infantry regiment eventually known as the “Harlem Hellfighters” arrived in France in December 1917, none of them could have imagined that they would initiate a trend of African Americans moving to Paris, a migration that continues to this day, says Michele L. Simms-Burton, a former professor of African American studies.
This infantry unit that fought gallantly in World War I included top-tier African American musicians, recruited by James Reese Europe, a ragtime and jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. The unit’s band helped Parisians chase away their wartime blues by introducing them to jazz, or what many musicians refer to as “Black American classical music.”
The warm reception that Reese and his musicians received in Europe, and Paris in particular, was deeply appreciated by the African American musician community. Faced with low wages and racism in the United States, many of them turned to Paris as an alternative place to perform, create, and sometimes live.
Simms-Burton explores how jazz took Paris by storm, the circumstances that made the city ripe for embracing this new musical form, and why Paris continues to be a place where African American musicians work, create, and live. She also explores clubs where African American musicians played and interacted with Parisians across the color line during the first part of the 20th century and where African American musicians continue to play. In addition to examining Reese and the Harlem Hellfighters band, she discusses Josephine Baker, Miles Davis, Archie Shepp, and Roy Hargrove.
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