AN AMERICAN MUSICIAN
James Reece Europe was born fourth of five children to a former slave and a "free-colored" woman in Mobile, Alabama in 1881. His parents and all the siblings played music, so he learned to play both violin and piano. The family moved when his father took a job with the Post Office in Washington D.C., where ten-year old James began more advanced violin lessons with Enrico Hurlei, assistant director of the Marine Corps Band. At 14, James placed second in a music composition contest (his younger sister was the winner). He graduated from Washington's Preparatory High School for Negro Youth, a contemporary of pianist Ford Dabney and playwright Mary P. Burrill.
At twenty-one, Europe went to look for orchestra work in New York City. Jobs for African-American violinists in 1901 were scarce, so he started playing piano in cabarets - where customers' musical tastes ran to ragtime. Always a quick-study, James soon absorbed the fundamentals of the genre, and began to 'improve' the often-basic repertoire. Living in Harlem, he joined 'The Frogs,' an informal club of black musicians whose aim was both social and educational (many needed help to read scores). By 1910, this association had been incorporated by Europe into the midtown all African-American 'Clef Club,' with a labor exchange, concert hall, and an orchestra.
In 1912, 31 year old Europe led the club's orchestra at a Carnegie Hall concert; likely the first performance of jazz music at any whites-only venue in New York. All music was written by black composers, while the 125-piece orchestral arrangements were by Europe. In the same year, James was hired to direct and arrange music for shows by dancers Irene and Vernon Castle at the Cafe de Paris and on Broadway, pioneering the Fox-trot. Victor Records signed him to a contract with his 'Society Orchestra' (mostly Clef Club members). He married Willie Starke in 1913.
The New York National Guard asked Europe to organize a brass band for the colored 15th Infantry Regiment. In 1917, they were mobilized as the 369th Infantry, and sent to France. Europe took an officers' test, and accepted a commission as lieutenant commanding a machine-gun company. They were assigned as a unit to the French Army command, because white American troops refused to serve with blacks. German soldiers named the 369th "Die Höllenkämpfer" (or Hellfighters).
Europe was also appointed to lead the regimental band - soldiers who both fought and performed. They were often asked to play for military parades and civilian events; they introduced jazz to British, French, and other European audiences. After the Armistice, the 369th was one of the earliest units to be returned home. On February 17, 1919, Europe and the band led the much-decorated Harlem Hellfighters on a parade from Washington Square to Harlem as thousands lined the sidewalks to cheer them.
Europe re-organized his Society Orchestra and made several post-war recordings, but his plans were cut short. Less than three months after his return from the war, he was stabbed to death in an argument with one of his musicians.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de6vX1U6xHw