Jason Moran - The Harlem Hellfighters: James Reese Euper and the Absence of Ruin
Saturday, June 24, 2023
Wilmington, DE @ Rodney Square - Clifford Brown Jazz Festival
Shure MV88 > iPhone 12 > Motiv Audio App > WAV > CD Wave Editor (tracking) > FLAC (24/48)
Recorded by Mr. Mountjoy
01. From the Dancehall to the Battlefield >
02. Ballin the Jack > Feed the Fire > All of No Man's Land is Ours
03. Russian Rag >
04. Darktown Strutter's Ball >
05. Flee as a Bird to your Mountain > Ghosts >
06. Drop (Tear)
07. That Moaning Trombone
08. Memphis Blues >
09. St. Louis Blues >
10. Hesitating Blues >
11. Castle House Rag
12. introductions
13. For James
Jason Moran, piano
Daryl Harper, clarinet
Immanuel Wilkins, alto saxophone
Brian Settles, tenor saxophone
David Adewumi, trumpet
Chris Bates, trombone
Reginald Cyntje, tuba and bass trombone
Jose Davila, tuba
Tarus Mateen, bass
Nasheet Waits, drums
https://cliffordbrownjazzfest.org/saturday-june-24th/
JASON MORAN -
THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS
James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin
Composer, pianist, and visual artist Jason Moran reflects on the legacy of a hero of black music in a multidisciplinary program entitled, James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters: The Absence of Ruin. An iconic figure in the evolution of African-American music, ragtime pioneer, and World War I hero, James Reese Europe led a crack military ensemble called the Harlem Hellfighters. In addition to their achievements in combat, Europe and his Hellfighters popularized the new spirit of jazz in a war-torn French nation fascinated with black culture. And that’s only the beginning of their story – their legacy has had an extraordinary impact on African-American music over the past century of cultural and political change.
Moran’s innovative program features his Bandwagon bandmates – bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits – plus a seven-piece horn section, contributions from artist/writer/film director/screenwriter John Akomfrah, and visual materials from acclaimed cinematographer Bradford Young. It’s Moran’s response to Orlando Patterson’s concept of the “absence of ruin” – a musical monument to a vanishing African-American history. Of the US premiere, The Washington Post exclaims, “We already know that Jason Moran is stunningly and profoundly original, even in his treatment of existing material…Knowing it doesn’t prepare one for the stark, sublime beauty of James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters: The Absence of Ruin.”
James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin is co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, Berliner Festspiele / Jazzfest Berlin, Serious and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, with support from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and from the Federal Agency for Civic Education, Germany.
Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.
Images for this show:
