New Orleans Jazz Funerals (Dejans Olympia Brass Band Milton Batiste)

Cry at the birth, rejoice at the death

sending people off with a band
Birth is the beginning of trials and tribulations
a way to honor the loved ones
Two major parts:
1. Band meets at the funeral of the church where services are being held,
procession travels through the neighborhood to the cemetery (sorrow, little
room for improvisation). Before reaching the cemetary, they cut the body loose
- final services. Taps if the deceased was in the military, Blues if he was a
bluesman.
2. When leaving the cemetery, drums play upbeat tempo (i.e. When the Saints Go
Marching In).
Grand Marshall (Drum Major)
regulates emotion and intensity
someone who shows the dignity
The Second Line: uninvited guests from the neighborhoods that give the procession
character; one of the most distinguishing features of the jazz funeral (how does the
public respond? Participatory culture, community involvement). Some people do not
appreciate the second line.
First Line: family members, invited guests, brass band
Jazz Funeral goes against typical belief (you're supposed to be sad for a funeral)
Who gets a Jazz Funeral? Whoever can pay for it.
When did it begin? No clear cut date. Historians refer to them as Brass Band Funerals.
Jazz Funeral was a term used from the 1950s 1960s. Funerals with music began with
folk cultures.
Funerals with music disappeared in the US, but thrived in New Orleans.
Jack Laine (1963)
Ragtime and Jazz
Some exist today as social clubs
1958: Blues Legend was given a Jazz Funeral in NYC
Don Perry: photographer of Jazz Funerals
1970s: major turning points in styles
Olympia Brass Band: element of continuity
1883: birth of Olympia Brass Band (played for funerals, Mardi Gras)