Episode description

Jazz pianist Jason Moran brings us an exploration into the life and work of James Reese Europe and how the infamous 369th Infantry Regiment - also known as the Harlem Hellfighters - crossed racial lines and brought jazz to Europe.

Joe Young of New York Public Radio talks about how using music as a service member informed his own patriotism

Companion listening for this episode:

Juneteenth, an Unfinished Business (June 26, 2020)

As the nation grapples with a reckoning, we pause to celebrate Juneteenth. Our holiday special, for Black liberation and the ongoing birth of the United States.

Music, McCarthy, and the Sound of Americana (May 23, 2017)

The "common man" era in the 1930s and '40s needed a truly American music. Aaron Copland created it in one America and 20 years later found himself in quite another United States.

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Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.