American Heart in WWI, on PBS

There were more American casualties during the Meuse-Argonne than in any other battle, in any other war. Yet, most Americans rarely think about WWI, despite its drastic geopolitical consequences. “The Great War” also inspired celebrated literature and enduring songs, all of which historian John Monsky incorporated into the remarkable concert presentation American Heart in WWI: A Carnegie Hall Tribute, which premieres tonight on PBS.

Encompassing multimedia, staged readings, and a full symphony orchestra, Monsky and five Broadway performers present WWI through the eyes of three soldiers and two women who mourned them. James Reese Europe was a self-made Harlem bandleader, whose Harlem Hellfighters developed a fierce reputation fighting alongside the French, because their white countrymen did not want them. In contrast, Quentin Roosvelt led a privileged life as TR’s son. Monsky frequently compares New York lawyer Charles Whittlesey to Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby, who becomes a recurring motif of the staged concert (even though Fitzgerald never saw any direct action).

Vera Brittain chronicled her service as a military nurse in her bestselling memoir Testament of Youth, as well as her grief for her lover, brother, and friends. Likewise, Flora Payne Whitney also hailed from an elite family, but her romance with Roosevelt would be tragically cut short.

There is a good deal of syncopation in the Carnegie Hall concert thanks to Europe. Arguably, he was the biggest bandleader of the late 1910s, who could have been even more significant than Ellington had he lived longer. It is nice to see him get his due in Carnegie Hall, where he played historic concerts with his own orchestra, particularly since his surviving family were there to witness the moment.

In addition to Europe, there is music from many of the Great American Songbook composers, like Jerome Kern, whose “No, We’ll Never Tell” is poignantly expressive of Monsky’s themes. Many of the arrangements are surprisingly sensitive and inventive especially George M. Cohan’s typically martial-sounding “Over There,” which is elegiacally transformed.

Fittingly, there are several selections by Irving Berlin, including tunes he wrote for a revue staged at Camp Upton. There is also a stirring rendition of a tune he cut from the show, but eventually premiered during WWII: “God Bless America.”

Throughout the staging, Monsky skillfully brings his themes full circle. His text undeniably celebrates veterans and America. He also addresses his own family connections in ways that convey the War’s lingering influence rather than shoehorning himself into the narrative.

The Harlem Hellfighters, on History Channel

James Reese Europe should be a household name for both his music and his military service. Before he shipped off to France with New York’s 15^th National Guard, he was one of the most famous bandleaders in America, both for fronting his own ensemble and backing Vernon and Irene Castle. Europe and his comrades in the 15^th fought like heck for America, even though the armed services were racially segregated during WWI. The 15^th gets the credit they were so often denied in the one-hour documentary special The Harlem Hellfighters (directed by Mandla Dube), which premieres tomorrow night on History Channel.

Europe is either one of the earliest jazz musicians or the last of ragtime. Regardless, he could have been as big as Basie or Goodman had he lived to see the era of big band jazz. At the height of his fame, Europe volunteered for the 15^th (which became the 369^th Infantry Regiment when they shipped out overseas), inspiring a wave of enlistments from within his band and throughout New York City. They were under-funded and under-trained, because the top military brass had no confidence in them. Yet, they quickly gained a reputation for battlefield tenacity (and their ferocious nickname) when they were finally deployed in combat roles.

Fittingly, Dube and most of the on-screen commentators focus on Europe and his fellow musicians, most notably including his songwriting partner, Noble Sissle, making the History doc of particular interest to jazz fans. Of course, appropriate time is also devoted to Henry Johnson, who became a media sensation for accounts of his heroism and eventually became a posthumous Medal of Honor recipient, eightysome years after his death.

As you would expect, the Hellfighters often endured disgraceful racism from their fellow American soldiers (and those who didn’t even have the decency to serve). However, it is “nice” to hear some of the white Northern soldiers nearly stormed the hotel where Sissle was attacked during their training in the segregated south. Early on, Woodrow Wilson faces some deserved criticism for his racism, but he probably gets off easy considering nobody was more responsible segregation as it was practiced in the early and mid-20^th Century.

ADIFF ’17: Paris Noir

James Reese Europe and Eugene Bullard fought hard and they swung hard. The early jazz musicians’ service during WWI earned them medals for bravery, but they were bestowed by the French military, because the American forces would not allow African Americans in combat divisions. Understandably, Bullard decided to stay longer in the comparatively more tolerant France, becoming a leader of the expatriate community in Montmartre. Director-editor-co-producer Joanne Burke and screenwriter-co-producer-companion-book-author David Burke survey that still influential artistic and musical expat scene in Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light (trailer here), which screens during this year’s African Diaspora International Film Festival in New York.

Fittingly, the Burkes’ doc starts with Europe, whose Harlem Hellfighters were quickly celebrated by the French citizenry for their syncopated marching music and their ferocious courage on the battlefield. Such a warm welcome was duly remarked upon in letters home and subsequently reported in the African American press. Not so surprisingly, many African American servicemen opted to stay in France, and many more joined them later as expatriates.

The Burkes earn a great deal of credit for devoting a fair amount of time to the criminally under-heralded Bullard, one of our true national heroes. On the other hand, they also fully address the great Sidney Bechet’s notoriously rowdy stay in-country (as in bullets flying—into bystanders), which presents a somewhat different side to the story. They also give Ada “Bricktop” Smith and a certain dancer by the name of Josephine Baker the attention they deserve, which definitely tilts the focus of the film towards music, but who would have it any other way? (It also makes you wonder why nobody has thought to produce a narrative film dramatizing Baker’s WWII years as a spy for the Free French.)

Still, there is some interesting discussion of Harlem Renaissance author Claude McKay, who was one of the few expatriates willing to criticize his French hosts for their imperialism and nativist trade unions in the novel Banjo. We also see some striking art produced by African American artists, many of whom were exploring their African heritage for the first time.

The one-hour Paris Noir feels a bit like a PBS special, but it is stuffed with informative culturally history and moves along at a brisk clip. Frankly, any film that features Bechet, Bullard, and Europe deserves to be seen by the masses. Highly recommended, especially for students, Paris Noir screens tomorrow afternoon (12/3) at Teachers College, Columbia, as part of the 2017 ADIFF.

Ragtime Revolution

Vernon and Irene Castle’s Ragtime Revolution
By Eve Golden
University of Kentucky Press

James Reese Europe, the African American WWI military hero and bandleader, was the greatest link between ragtime and jazz. Without Vernon and Irene Castle, it is doubtful his music would have attained the same level of acceptance with white audiences. As Eve Golden makes clear in the new biography Vernon and Irene Castle’s Ragtime Revolution, the Castles functioned as respectable society’s seal of approval, popularizing the formerly scandalous pastime of social dance, which indirectly lead to what became the Jazz Age.

The Castles are best remembered now through the 1939 bio-picture starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Astaire was perfectly cast as Vernon, Rogers less so as Irene. As there is little surviving video footage of the Castles, the RKO picture dominates the collective American memory of the pre-WWI dancing sensations.

In some ways, the Castles, particularly Vernon, were progressive in their thinking. Their relationship with Europe represented a historic precedent: a white couple exhibition dancing to the music of an African American orchestra. Golden explains:

“Vernon was always quick to remind audiences that Europe’s was ‘the best dancing music in the world,’ and Europe was delighted to find such famous and good-natured stars to accompany. Vernon and Europe became fast friends; Europe called Vernon ‘one white absolutely without prejudice.’” (p. 69)

Of the two Castles, it is safe to say Golden shows a pronounced preference for Vernon. While he is consistently portrayed as broadminded and humane, Golden often uses Irene’s own words to suggest petty and churlish aspects of her character. While it might represent a bias, it certainly seems to be a fair representation of their respective personalities, and her use of Irene’s words seems fair and in the proper contexts. Though Mrs. Castle shared her husband’s affection for Europe, Golden quotes statements on jazz which include less than enlightened racial language:

“The dancing of 1922 isn’t beautiful. It has rhythm, yes, but what rhythm! The rhythm of jungle creatures. And what sort of rhythm is that? You know enough of anthropology to answer that yourself, I’m sure.” (p. 225)

Golden paints an interesting picture of the beginnings of contemporary celebrity culture. The Castles were certainly talented, but they may not have been the greatest dancers of the 1910’s. Yet they had the right image and were able to ride an effective publicity campaign until WWI intervened, and the British Vernon enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps.

The press played a critical role in making them celebrities, but it could also be uncharitable. Golden shows ill-concealed contempt for the contemporary press’s innuendos regarding the Frasier Crane-like Vernon Castle’s manliness. Golden quotes an example from an Ohio paper, which seemed to be a frequent offender:

“‘Gosh, we bet the British army is growing impatient,’ wrote the Toledo Blade, waiting for Vernon to ‘come a-flying over the trenches in his trusty aeroplane and scare the Germans half out of their wits (which it might be added, is exactly what he would shortly do).” (p. 148)

Again, Golden has a legitimate point. Vernon Castle would fly many missions, shoot down two German planes, and was killed in the line of duty. Perhaps the Toledo Blade could have shown a little respect.

Despite the distant remove from its subjects, Revolution is a quick, enjoyable read. Golden is a strong writer, turning some nice phrases, and backing up her representations with historical source material. Since I believe James Reese Europe is an under-appreciated American hero, I would have preferred even more material on his relationship with the Castles, but that’s my bias. As written, Revolution is an entertaining biography that makes a strong case on behalf of Vernon Castle’s stature as an under-appreciated military hero, as well.

Remembering James Reese Europe on Memorial Day

James Reese Europe was one of jazz’s early forefathers and also one of New York’s greatest WWI figures. Google may not mark Memorial Day, but let’s take a minute to remember a military and musical hero.

Born to a freed slave who became a Republican appointee in the postmaster-general’s office, James Reese Europe would quickly rise to the pinnacle of the New York dance band world. Nearly all the top dance bands operated under the auspices of his benevolent club, most directly under his own name. More than any other band leader, he ushered American music through its early changes from Ragtime to a more syncopated style that would eventually become Jazz. As musical director for Vernon and Irene Castle, he broke the color-line providing music for white America’s dancing sensations.

Europe led many orchestras, but it was as the leader of the Army 15th’s marching band for which he is most celebrated. It was the band itself that enticed many of the 15th’s volunteers into service. While attached to the U.S. Army, Europe’s band thrilled U.S. servicemen and French civilians in performance. Due to Army reluctance to pursue battlefield integration, the 15th was re-christened the 369th Infantry Regiment, and attached to the French Army at the front.

Soon dubbed the “Hell Fighters” for their warfighting tenacity, Europe’s men endured trench warfare and distinguished themselves under artillery fire and chemical attack, culminating in an unprecedented 171 citations for individual heroism, and a forty percent fatality rate for the original 2,000 volunteers.

Europe survived the Great War, only to be killed by a mentally disturbed band member. Remembered fondly by colleagues like Eubie Blake, he was a great American, who ought to be better known. Here is as life that would make a great movie, but perhaps the combination of heroism and jazz would not be considered commercial, which would be a sad commentary indeed.