ABSTRACT
Europe was a pioneering early African-American bandleader, arranger, and businessman. Son of a former slave, Europe’s family relocated from his birthplace of Mobile, Alabama, to Washington, D.C. when he was nine. Continuing music lessons on piano, violin, and mandolin, he lived for a time just houses away from John Philip Sousa, whose march compositions and U.S. Marine Corps Band dominated American musical tastes. Moving to New York City around 1903, he began directing Black dance ensembles and-when opportunities presented themselves-working in musical comedy.
