Americans in Paris

People don’t typically associate American culture with widespread acceptance by the French public. Most assume that French artists and consumers are not very interested in American art forms. However, there are some notable exceptions to this stereotype, especially in the case of American jazz. The French were first introduced to this new American art form in the early part of the 20th century, and jazz has gone on to become one of the most poplar musical genres in France.

In 1917, America was deeply involved in the First World War with many troops stationed in France. The U.S. Army asked a prominent African-American bandleader from the East Coast, named James Reese Europe, to form a jazz orchestra to travel overseas and help build morale. Mr. Europe assembled a group, including musicians from Harlem and Puerto Rico, and they arrived on French soil on New Year's Day, 1918.

The band, nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters, created a huge sensation among both American and French audiences. These concerts were among the very first instances of American jazz being performed in France. According to legend, Mr. Europe and his group played a concert in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris in October 1918. After the concert, the leader of a French military band asked to borrow the sheet music. He returned the next day, saying that he couldn't seem to get the same musical effects (slurring, bending notes, etc.). Europe attended a rehearsal of the French band and noted that, although the musicians executed the score superbly, the jazz effects were indeed missing. It turns out that the French musicians thought that the Americans had been using special, trick instruments to achieve their sound.

Today, jazz is very much alive in France. Both international and French jazz musicians reach their enthusiastic fans across the country via festivals, nightclub appearances, broadcasts and recordings.