Jason Moran’s Harlem Hellfighters perform in Harlem as part of City Parks’ SummerStage season on August 18, 2023. The free performance is the Hellfighters’ Harlem debut.
“This performance in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park is a reflection on the life and legacy of James Reese Europe. An early jazz pioneer, he fought on the front lines in France with the 369th Infantry Regiment, one of the first African-American regiments to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I– later dubbed the Harlem Hellfighters. Pianist, composer, bandleader, and MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient Jason Moran celebrates this hero of [B]lack music with a highly personal reflection on the impact of the African-American presence in Europe, which helped popularize the new spirit of jazz to a war-torn French nation fascinated with [B]lack culture.”
Friday, August 18, 2023
7:00 p.m.
Marcus Garvey Park
New York, NY
