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The Product of Our Souls: The Sound and Sway of James Reese Europe's Society Orchestra
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About The Product Of Our Souls: The Sound And Sway Of
Product Description America was hot to trot in 1913, when a craze for social dancing swept across the nation. Vernon and Irene Castle were the faces of that cultural revolution and the soundtrack was composed by James Reese Europe and played by his bands. An esteemed musician, bandleader, and labor organizer on behalf of his fellow African Americans, Europe described his cohort's musical innovations as "the product of our souls." This compilation presents for the first time all eight sides recorded by Europe's Society Orchestra in 1913 and 1914, and it contrasts them with recordings of the same material by studio bands made contemporaneously. Also included are selections composed by Europe but recorded by other stars of the day, showing Europe's depth and influence. In the enclosed 56-page booklet, author David Gilbert gives incisive musical and cultural analysis, establishing James Reese Europe's prominence of position among the great musical forces of the 20th century. Companion to the book, The Product of Our Souls: Ragtime, Race, and the Birth of the Manhattan Musical Marketplace, published by the University of North Carolina Press, 2015. Review It would not be an exaggeration to say that this collection was a long time coming. On two sessions during 1913-14, James Reese Europe's Society Orchestra became the first African-American dance band to be recorded, resulting in eight selections. Although the numbers had been reissued on a haphazard basis through the decades, the Archeophone CD is the first time that all eight performances have been collected together. It only took 104 years! James Reese Europe (1880-1919), who had his life cut short when he was murdered by a disgruntled drummer in 1919, was a giant of his era. While not a performing musician himself, Europe was an arranger-composer and a pioneer as a bandleader. He organized the Clef Club Orchestra in 1910 and two years later played a concert at Carnegie Hall, a groundbreaking event for an African-American group and for any dance band. His orchestra, which at times had up to 125 members, performed popular songs of the era, renditions of classical music and music that was sometimes influenced by ragtime. The orchestra gained fame for its work accompanying Vernon and Irene Castle, influential performers who introduced many dances including the foxtrot. During World War I, Europe gained great acclaim overseas when he led a syncopated military band (the Hellfighters) throughout France. That orchestra recorded jazz-oriented performances in 1919 with some vocals by Noble Sissle. But James Reese Europe, who was poised to make major accomplishments in the Jazz Age, was killed just two months later. The 1913-14 performances, despite their syncopations and even an improvising violinist on one song, are pre jazz rather than jazz. Of greatest interest, in addition to the band's obvious enthusiasm, is the inventive drumming of Buddy Gilmore who adds a lot of color and excitement to the uptempo pieces. The Dec. 29, 1913 session has Europe leading a group consisting of five banjo mandolins, three violins, a single piano (played by two pianists), cornet, clarinet and drummer Gilmore. They perform a pair of conventional South American dance tunes (Amapa and the tango El Irresistible) and, most importantly, spirited renditions of Too Much Mustard and Wilbur Sweatman's Down Home Rag. The second session from May 5, 1914 has different instrumentation (cornet, clarinet, flute, baritone horn, three violins, piano, cello and Gilmore on drums) performing the Broadway show tune You're Here And I'm Here plus three Europe compositions: the waltz Castle's Lame Duck, Castle Walk and the exciting Castle House Rag. The music is the closest that any recording group came to jazz before the Original Dixieland Jazz Band debuted in 1917. 14 other rare recordings, dating from 1912-16 with one vocalist from 1908, are also on this CD. Nine are other band's versions of the songs
