A Century Later, An Illuminated Eulogy For A Jazz Pioneer

For his multimedia tribute to jazz pioneer and war hero James Reese Europe, Jason Moran doesn't wear his usual performance attire. His wife, the musician Alicia Hall Moran, had some ideas for a more meaningful costume.

"She told me I needed to experience the same weight and pressure Europe and his soldier musicians did when they performed in uniform overseas," says Moran.

So as a kind of method acting tool, Moran sits down at the piano in a heavy army green trench coat and tightly laced boots. "Those boots are constricting," Moran says. "It's a small gesture, but it helps me remember what black bodies had to take for freedom."