The US premiere of Jason Moran – James Reese Europe and The Harlem Hellfighters: The Absence of Ruin – takes place at co-commissioners the Kennedy Center on Saturday December 8, with a stateside band again built around Jason’s Bandwagon Trio – bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits joined by Darryl Harper (clarinet); Immanuel Wilkins (alto saxophone); Brian Settles (tenor saxophone); David Adewumi (trumpet); Chris Bates (trombone); Reginald Cyntje (tuba and bass trombone); and Jose Davila (tuba).
As well as the concert itself, Jason – the Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz – and historian Gene Alexander Peters will discuss the impact and legacy of James Reese Europe, earlier the same evening.
http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/MTJPC
You can also see footage of an earlier Kennedy Center event from the 369th Experience, a large ensemble of musicians from a network of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, paying tribute to the contributions of African Americans and Puerto Ricans in World War I through the eyes of the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment – the music James Reese Europe’s Harlem Hellfighters.
http://www.kennedy-center.org/video/index/M67474
A further event at George town University on Thursday December 6 sees Jason, in his second year as Distinguished Artist in Residence at Georgetown University, in discussion with Oscar®-nominated cinematographer Bradford Young (Selma, Arrival) explore the life, music, and legacy ofJames Reese Europe (1880-1919), and talk about their collaboration on The Absence of Ruin.
Jason Moran - The Harlem Hellfighters 