Jazz funeral

History

For a long time, the phrase "jazz funeral" was mostly used by people from outside New Orleans. Many local musicians and those who kept the tradition alive disliked the term, feeling it was not quite right. They preferred to call it a "funeral with music." While jazz was certainly part of the music played, it was not the main point of the ceremony. This dislike for the term started to fade in the last fifteen years or so of the 1900s, especially among younger brass band players who grew up with the funk-influenced sounds of groups like the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Soul Rebels Brass Band, rather than older traditional jazz.

The tradition itself is a blend of strong European and African roots. Louisiana’s colonial history gave the area a custom of military-style brass bands that played at many events, including funeral processions. This was combined with African spiritual practices, particularly from the Yoruba people of Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. The tradition was also heavily shaped by early 1900s Protestant and Catholic churches, Black brass bands, and the idea of celebrating after death to please the spirits that watch over the dead. Another major influence came from the Mardi Gras Indians.

At the start of the 1900s, this type of funeral was common among New Orleanians of all ethnic backgrounds. But as brass band music got wilder in the years before World War I, some white residents thought the "hot" music was disrespectful, and musical funerals became rare among white citizens. After the 1960s, the practice slowly began to cross ethnic and religious lines again. Today, these funerals are most often held for musicians, people connected to the music industry, or members of social aid and pleasure clubs and Carnival krewes who plan for such services.

While most jazz funerals are still for African American musicians, a newer trend has emerged where they are given to young people who have died. The organizers hire the band as part of the service. If a well-respected musician or important community figure passes away, other musicians may join the procession out of respect. In recent times, anyone can request a jazz funeral, but the tradition remains most common for musicians.

In popular culture

The 1965 film The Cincinnati Kid, set in New Orleans, begins with a jazz funeral playing "Oh, Didn't He Ramble." In the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die, a secret agent is murdered under cover of a jazz funeral. The 2010 HBO series Treme frequently features jazz funerals. The Originals, a spin-off of The Vampire Diaries that started in 2013 and ran for five seasons, features several jazz funerals, though these are always in the French Quarter Square and mostly showcase only the lively music portion. Legacies, a 2018 four-season spin-off of The Originals, includes a jazz funeral for the character Klaus Michaelson. The 2023 Disney film Haunted Mansion features a jazz funeral with an original song performed by The Soul Rebels. A jazz funeral inspired a funeral scene in the 2023 Disney+ series Andor episode "Rix Road."