Jazz funeral is a common name for a
funeralA funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour. These customs vary widely between cultures, and...
tradition with
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
which developed in
New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
.
The term "jazz funeral" was long in use by observers from elsewhere, but was generally disdained as inappropriate by most New Orleans musicians and practitioners of the tradition. The preferred description was "funeral with music"; while
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
was part of the music played, it was not the primary focus of the ceremony.
Jazz funeral is a common name for a
funeralA funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour. These customs vary widely between cultures, and...
tradition with
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
which developed in
New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
.
The term "jazz funeral" was long in use by observers from elsewhere, but was generally disdained as inappropriate by most New Orleans musicians and practitioners of the tradition. The preferred description was "funeral with music"; while
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
was part of the music played, it was not the primary focus of the ceremony. This reluctance to use the term faded significantly in the final 15 years or so of the 20th century among the younger generation of New Orleans brass band musicians more familiar with the post-
Dirty Dozen Brass BandThe Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a New Orleans, Louisiana, brass band. The ensemble was established in 1977 by Benny Jones together with members of the Tornado Brass Band...
funk influenced style than the older traditional jazz New Orleans style. (See also:
Let Me Do My Thang: Rebirth Brass Band- a documentary filmed and edited by Keith Reynaud, Jr.)
The tradition arises from African spiritual practices, French and Spanish martial musical traditions, and uniquely African-American cultural influences. The tradition was widespread among New Orleanians across ethnic boundaries at the start of the 20th century. As the common brass band music became wilder in the years before World War I, some "white" New Orleanians considered the hot music disrespectful, and such musical funerals became rare among the city's caucasians. For much of the mid-20th century, the Catholic Church officially frowned on secular music at funerals, so for generations the tradition was largely confined to African American Protestant New Orleanians. After the 1960s it gradually started being practiced across ethnic and religious boundaries. Most commonly such musical funerals are done for individuals who are musicians themselves, connected to the music industry, or members of various social aid & pleasure clubs or
CarnivalMardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of the most famous Carnival celebrations in the world.The New Orleans Carnival season, with roots in preparing for the start of the Christian season of Lent, starts on Epiphany or Twelfth Night . It is a season of parades, balls , and king cake parties...
kreweA Krewe is an organization that puts on a parade and or a ball for the Carnival season. The term is best known for its association with New Orleans Mardi Gras, but is also used in other Carnival celebrations around the Gulf of Mexico, such as the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Florida, and...
s who make a point of arranging for such funerals for members.
The organizers of the funeral arrange for hiring the band as part of the services. When a respected fellow musician or prominent member of the community dies, some additional musicians may also play in the procession as a sign of their esteem for the deceased.
A typical jazz funeral begins with a march by the family, friends, and a
brass bandA brass band is a musical group generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles which include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
from the home, funeral home or church to the cemetery. Throughout the march, the band plays somber
dirge*Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire*Just a Closer Walk With Thee*In the Sweet By and By*Bye and Bye*"Dirge" by Bob Dylan*"O, Death", a traditional Appalachian dirge*"Over in the Gloryland"*"Westlawn Dirge"*" The Dirge" by Exhorder...
s and
hymnA hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word hymn derives from Greek , "a song of praise"...
s. A change in the tenor of the ceremony takes place, after either the deceased is buried, or the hearse leaves the
processionA funeral procession is a procession, usually in motor vehicles, from a church, synagogue, or mosque to the cemetery. The deceased is usually transported in a hearse, while family and friends follow in their vehicles.- Standard procedure :...
and members of the procession say their final good bye and they "cut the body loose". After this the music becomes more upbeat, often starting with a hymn or spiritual number played in a swinging fashion, then going into popular hot tunes. There is raucous music and cathartic dancing where onlookers join in to celebrate the life of the deceased. Those who follow the band just to enjoy the music are called the second line, and their style of dancing, in which they walk and sometimes twirl a parasol or handkerchief in the air, is called second lining.
Some younger
funkFunk is an American music genre that originated in the late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and
hip hopHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
oriented brass bands often dispense with the dirges and hymns all together, or perform only the traditional tune "Just a Closer Walk With Thee."
One tune sometimes used in this upbeat portion of the parade is the "New Second Line" march, which was featured in the jazz-funeral marches in the
James BondJames Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The character has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr...
movie
Live and Let DieLive and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...
.
Notable people who have received jazz funerals
- Danny Barker
Danny Barker , born Daniel Moses Barker, was a jazz banjoist, singer, guitarist, songwriter, ukelele player and author from New Orleans, founder of the locally famous Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band...
- Ernie K-Doe
Ernie K-Doe , was an African American rhythm and blues singer.-Early career:Born Ernest Kador, Jr., in New Orleans, Louisiana, K-Doe is perhaps best known for colorful personality and his 1961 hit song, Allen Toussaint's "Mother-In-Law," which went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United...
- Alan Jaffee
- Anthony Lacen
Anthony "Tuba Fats" Lacen was a jazz tubist and band leader. Tuba Fats was New Orleans' most famous tuba player and played traditional New Orleans jazz and blues for over 40 years....
(Tuba Fats)
- Austin Leslie
Austin Leslie was an internationally famous New Orleans chef whose work defined 'Creole Soul'. He died in Atlanta at the age of 71 after having been evacuated from New Orleans; he had been trapped in his attic for two days in the 98°F heat in the aftermath of the 29 August Hurricane Katrina...
- Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair was a New Orleans, Louisiana blues singer and pianist...
- Allison "Tootie" Montana
Chief Allison ‘Tootie’ Montana was a New Orleans cultural icon and acted as the Mardi Gras Indian "Chief of Chiefs" for decades...
- Paolo Mantovani
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani , known by the mononym Mantovani, was a popular conductor and light orchestra-style entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature...
- Ernest "Doc" Paulin
- Alphonse Picou
Alphonse Floristan Picou was an important very early jazz clarinetist who also wrote and arranged music....
- Ike Turner
Ike Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, talent scout, and record producer. Considered to be one of the fathers of rock and roll, his first recording, "Rocket 88" by "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats," in 1951, is considered by some to be the "first rock and roll song" ever...
- DJ Irv
- Soulja Slim
James Tapp, Jr. , better known by his stage name Soulja Slim, was an American rapper who achieved modest success on Master P's No Limit record label. He is known for his U.S. #1 hit "Slow Motion" with fellow rapper Juvenile...
- Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
- Ed Bradley
Edward Rudolph Bradley, Jr. was an American journalist, best known for twenty-six years of award-winning work on the CBS News television magazine 60 Minutes...
- Snooks Eaglin
Snooks Eaglin, born Fird Eaglin, Jr. , was a guitarist and singer in New Orleans. He was also referred to as Blind Snooks Eaglin in his early years....
External links