A hundred years ago on Monday, the 369th Infantry's "Harlem Hellfighters Band" gave what is said to have been the first jazz concert on European soil -- in the northwestern French city of Nantes. - Catching the jazz bug -The Harlem Hellfighters band played jazz concerts around FranceAfter that night at Nantes's Theatre Graslin, Europe would never sound the same again. The 369th Infantry was one of the four African American regiments sent from the racially segregated Unites States to fight under French command. James Reese Europe "was the first African American officer to lead troops in a wartime attack," said Matthieu Jouan, head of the "100 Years of Jazz" commemorations in Nantes. - Music from No Man's Land -The 369th Infantry received the Croix de Guerre French military decoration for bravery.

Source: Daily Mail February 12, 2018 08:37 UTC