- Alright, everybody, welcome back.
You know,
these days more people than ever
are tracing their family tree to find out
about their lives.
And the lives of their ancestors, so that they
can gain a better understanding of who they really are.
Well thanks to my friends at MyHeritage.
The story of my next guest ancestor
has been brought to life, take a look.
While the history books are full of
heroic stories, many stories of unsung heroes go untold.
James Reece Europe is one such hero.
Quoted by some as the founding father of
Ragtime and Jazz the only thing more staggering
than his legacy is the fact that
he is not a household name.
Born in eighteen eighty in Mobile Alabama.
He learned classical violin and piano as a child.
At twenty two, he moved to new york to pursue
a career in classical music.
While there he founded the Clef Club Orchestra.
The first all African American Orchestra
and trade union in the country.
James single handedly led the orchestra
all the way to Carnegie Hall in nineteen twelve
where he made history again as
the first black man to perform at the iconic venue.
In nineteen seventeen at the height of his career
he was called to fight in world war one.
When not on enemy lines he as busy introducing
a whole new continent to Rag time and Jazz
with his band The Harlem Hellfighters.
His contribution to black culture
makes his untimely death even more shocking.
In nineteen nineteen he was stabbed to death
by a member of his band.
He was just thirty nine years old.
James Reece Europe's efforts to elevate the black
cause through music have earned him a place
in the history books with many referred to him
as the Martin Luther King of music.
(applause)
Well everybody please welcome, the great grandson
of James Reece Europe, Robert F. Europe.
(applause)
- How you doing man?
- Thanks for having me on.
- So Robert before MyHeritage how much did you
know about your great grandfathers legacy?
- My father James who unfortunately
couldn't be here today, he always encouraged us
to learn as much as we could about the man.
But to kind of gauge the sheer impact
that my great grandfather had on culture
its kind of hard to comprehend.
I mean I know mostly about his big exploits
as far as bringing jazz to France but.
You know the finer details of his life
my knowledge gets a little sketchy so I'm excited
- Yeah so joining us now is
geneticist and family tree expert Nathan Pearson.
(Applause)
Alright Nathan, welcome back to the show
I know that you've partnered up with MyHeritage on this.
How can you help people like Robert
connect with their family history?
- So families we have kind of two ways
of looking back into the family past, and seeing
those details that you're craving to see Robert.
And those are the DNA that's within us and also
the lore and the records that go, that we share
outside that, that we share in
families and then the paper trail.
And so the cool thing with MyHeritage is they look at both.
And so you get this kind of stereo view
where your looking through those binoculars
and you can bring the past into focus and depth
better that way and for your great grandfather
when you look back at the records of him
and his family, before he was the warrior,
before he was the band leader.
He was the baby of the family, the youngest of
Lorraine and Henry Europe and they were living in
Mobile, Alabama in nineteen eighty
and at that time Henry was working as a gauger.
A gauger is a customs official at the port in Mobile.
But ten years earlier, in the first census
after emancipation, he had been working as a school teacher.
And you can see as you follow the family forward
in the paper trail, first they go to D.C
and then later when James moves to New York
he of course, in his fathers footsteps becomes
a mentor to so many young musicians in New York.
And there is amazing paper trail there of him
going to Puerto Rico and recruiting.
He was trying to find the best musicians to join his band.
There's a record him coming back with folks
on that ship with new band mates
and pioneering that forward.
And that of course brings us to music is his legacy.
And to your own legacy, the living legacy, there.
So in your own work, you inherited along with
other people, in your family tree and other kin.
You inherited some of that beautiful pioneering
work that he did artistically and also of course
the DNA that came with it.
(Applause)
- What attributes from your great grandfather
do-would you think live on in you?
- Well obviously, the most obvious thing would be music
um, I myself I'm a career musician.
I'm a singer guitar player for The Fostirit band.
Its a little rock band, back in New York.
I mean I got cousins that are just amazing singers
vocalist, songwriters and my father
James Reece Europe the third, and my brother
Lieutenant James Reece Europe the fourth
although they did not take a career in music
there, there both very,very adept at music.
(Applause)
- How do you plan on keeping your great grandfathers
memory alive for future generations in your family?
- Well I definitely want my kids to know about
James Reece Europe but uh I would like everyone
to know about James Reece Europe.
That's why my family and I, we've actually been
involved in this thing called
The Three sixty ninth Experience.
They actually recreated
the Three Sixty Ninth Harlem Hellfighters.
And all the musicians are made of, musicians
from local uh HBCU's.
And they tour around the country, I mean
their an incredible band and they tour around the country
and play my great grandfathers music.
- Thank you for joining us today man.
- On behalf of everybody thank you Steve and
thank you MyHeritage for bringing us on.
(Applause)
- That's really cool man to learn it like that.
Thank you Nathan and Robert.
Aye! For all of you at home you to can make
amazing family history discoveries, Just head over to
Myheritage.com and right now, if you use the coupon code
Stevefifty, you'll get fifty percent off
their complete subscription.
We'll be right back everybody.
(Applause)