Authentic New Orleans Jazz Funeral

Album Review

Certainly one of the most unique sights in New Orleans is that of a traditional jazz funeral in progress. The brass band is decked out in stately uniforms and is led through the streets by a professional mourner, who leads the crowd in song and dance. The bereaved accompany the casket, while other members of the funeral procession follow. This second line winds its way through the streets en route to the body's final resting place, where the music goes from solemn to joyous and the celebration begins for the one freed from earthly troubles. This CD takes the listener through all parts of such a service, with an informative narration by Milton Batiste, one of the great figures in the brass band tradition in New Orleans. These include the wake of inspirational gospel tunes, followed by the dirges, as the crowd accompanies the casket en route to the final resting place, and the joyful sendoff as the preacher cuts loose the body and the soul of the parishioner goes on home to be with the Lord. Batiste himself was accorded this traditional ceremonial tribute when he passed in March of 2001.

The music is performed by members of Alton Carlson's Magnificent Seventh's Brass Band, featuring some of the city's top musicians, such as Fred Kemp on saxophone, Wendell Eugene on trombone, and Cayetano Hingle on drums, as well as Batiste on trumpet and Carlson on tuba. Together, they play the poignant and jubilant music of the jazz funeral tradition. Hearts are edified by tunes such as "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," "As I Lay My Burden Down," "In the Sweet by and By," "Just a Closer Walk With Thee," "When the Saints Go Marching In," and "Didn't He Ramble." After such a joyous musical sendoff, the listener cannot help but feel the power of the spiritual heritage that created this marvelous tradition in the birthplace of jazz.