MARCHING TO A NEW BEAT: THE JAZZ FUNERAL TRADITION

The jazz funeral is a tradition that you might be familiar with. It’s a scene that has been played out many times in movies and if you’ve ever been to New Orleans, you might have even seen one. Although the jazz funeral is not uncommon in New Orleans today, it was a fairly routine practice during the early 20th century. The tradition arises from African spiritual practices French and Spanish traditions and uniquely African-American cultural traditions.

In those days it was not uncommon to see a marching band leading a procession of grieving people with a body (in a coffin or on a carriage, of course) from a church to the cemetery. On the way, the somber mood was amplified by the band, which generally played some type of dirge or slow hymn such as “Just a Closer Walk with Thee.”

After the dead was laid to rest and the people had said their final goodbyes, or “cut the body loose”, the band and the procession made their way back to town. This time, however, the tenor of the procession had changed one of joy as the crowd celebrated the life of the deceased. To reflect the change in mood, the band would play up-beat tunes like “Didn’t He Ramble” or “When the Saints go Marching In” before launching into more secular literature. These tunes had a lighter feel that made people want to dance and celebrate. As the procession weaved through town, passersby would often join in the parade after being overtaken by the infectious groove of the music. The band was often called the front line, the group of people parading and dancing behind was called the second line and the type of dance was called second lining.

Musicians were also starting to take liberties with the music. Since the music played was songs everyone knew, there was rarely written music with specific parts. Musicians were beginning to improvise by embellishing the melodies, changing the rhythms, adding notes and making up new melodies. As the band paraded the streets, they were often all improvising at the same time, while using the original song to keep their place. When a group of musicians improvise together, it is called collective improvisation and when a musician improvises by themselves, it is called a solo.

Although everyone was improvising at the same time, it is important to note that each instrument still fulfilled a specific role within the ensemble. Therefore, what each individual played was based on what the other musicians were playing. Think of it like a group conversation. In order for everyone’s individual point to be heard and for the conversation to flow, people must take turns talking and each individual’s contribution to the conversation must compliment what has already been said and move the conversation forward. If everyone just talked at random, it wouldn’t be much of a conversation, would it?

As the up-beat, celebratory music started to gain popularity, bands began playing this music at town picnics, dance halls and various other venues. As the bands moved to indoor performance venues some aspects of the bands’ configuration had to change. A drumline was abandoned and replaced by a single percussionist playing a trap set. The tuba often still fulfilled the bass role (although some groups used a string bass) and chordal instruments were added (often a piano and/or banjo, which is an instrument of African origin). This group of instruments provides the rhythmic foundation for the band and is called the rhythm section.

These groups, which were paired down versions of marching bands, became the very first jazz bands. The music they played was simply called jazz and musicians like Buddy Bolden, Joe “King” Oliver, Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton were the ones that played the music and helped bring it to popularity.