Sheet music cover for "Good Night Angeline" with photo of James Reese Europe and his famous 369th U.S. Infantry "Hell Fighters" Band, 1919 James Reese Europe (22 February 1881 – 9 May 1919) was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African American music scene of New York City in the 1910s.