He survived 191 days in the trenches of World War I, led a machine gun unit through gas attacks, and returned home a decorated hero, only to be stabbed in the neck by his own drummer during a concert intermission in Boston. This episode traces the life of James Reese Europe, born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1880, who built the infrastructure that allowed Black musicians to thrive in a violently segregated America and reprogrammed the soundtrack of the 20th century.

We look at the Clef Club he organized in 1910 to centralize bookings and standardize pay, the 1912 Carnegie Hall concert where a 125-piece orchestra with banjos and mandolins performed only works by Black composers, and his refusal to add a Haydn movement when critics demanded proof of technical chops. The conversation follows his partnership with dancers Vernon and Irene Castle, the  ...