[Dixielandjazz] Jazz Funerals

[Rick Knittel]

Hello Larry Walton (& Listmates);

Our Maine Street Paraders played for the ceremony of internment of ashes
of a woman who requested that a jazz band play Darktown Strutters Ball at
the grave site. We did this last month in Standish, Maine at the request
of the deceased's daughter from Virginia. It was an uplifting experience
and we felt as if we had done something especially meaningful. 

The woman who arranged this hired a team of horses and a wagon decorated
the way they do in New Orleans to carry the urn. We walked behind the
wagon and played A Closer Walk With Thee and Amazing Grace at a dirge
tempo with cornet, clarinet, trombone, banjo and tuba. The deceased's
family walked behind us for the distance of about 1000 feet from the farm
house to the cemetery. 

At the internment site in the cemetery, some scripture was read, people
were asked to tell favorite stories about the deceased and the band, as
requested, played Nearer My God to Thee, It is Well with My Soul and
Darktown which was her favorite song. 

We fell in behind the wagon on the way back to the farm house and played
Darktown Strutter's Ball and The Saints all at up tempo. Our banjo
player, who had spent several years in New Orleans was beside himself
with emotion and remarked that it was the most moving performance he had
ever played.

We were then invited for lunch with the family and felt as if we had
become one of them.

Kind Regards

Rick Knittel - JAZZBONE
The Maine Street Paraders and The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Band
37 Ship Channel Road; South Portland, Maine 04106-5136
Bus phone; (207)-741-2407; fax 2409; Cell: (207)-233-3480; Home;
(207)-799-6382
E-mail; Knittelsportland at juno.com; Winter Office; 7657 Bergamo Ave;
Sarasota, FL 34238-4765; Phone/Fax; (941)-924-5186
  


On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 13:06:14 -0500 "LARRY'S Signs and Large Format
Printing" <sign.guy at charter.net> writes:
> Is there anyone out there who does Dixie funerals?
> 
> I have been thinking about it for some time and did at one time talk 
> to a funeral director that was interested and played one for a guy I 
> knew. I have also done solo sax w/o accompaniment at a couple of 
> funerals which was received really well.   I can put together a band 
> at almost anytime.
> 
> The one I did for the friend was sort of a rink dink affair 
> organized by another band leader (who has the worst OKOM band in St. 
> Louis).  We stood around the coffin and played a couple of tunes 
> until the funeral director panicked because the sound was going into 
> other rooms.  The tuba player was a little rude to the director.  
> Obviously it wasn't cleared with the director first.  I really 
> didn't think the tunes were all that appropriate and ended up with 
> the guy in a snit and a minor scene.  Obviously I don't want to go 
> in this direction and I'm sure that funeral home won't be real 
> receptive to having a band or recommending one after that.
> 
> How big a band do you use?
> 
> How do you do them generally?  what is the structure?  example: At 
> the service play several tunes before the service, a hymn or 
> inspirational tune during and at the end play 4 or 5 tunes.  Taps?
> 
> Appropriate Tunes?
> 
> Price structure? Night vs. day? What will the traffic bear in your 
> area?  What's the average gig pay?
> 
> Do you do wakes or graveside or both?  Are there different prices?  
> How long does it take to do a service and then go to the graveside?  
> Are we looking at two or three hours?
> 
> Advertising?  Direct to funeral directors or in the Obit page of the 
> papers? Both?
> 
> At present there is no one here in St. Louis doing  Dixie funerals.  
> I thought that advertising in the obit pages might bring in other 
> business because older people who tend to hire this kind of music 
> read the obits to see if they are still alive.  They do not read 
> other kinds of advertising or look in the yellow pages for bands.   
> The down side is that this could get to be expensive.
> 
> The other problem that I have is that St. Louis does not have a 
> tradition of bands at funerals like New Orleans and some other 
> cities.  This might take awhile to catch on.
> 
> Any advice would be helpful
> Thanks
> Larry Walton
> St. Louis
> _______________________________________________
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> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
> 
> 


Rick Knittel - RK Associates, LLC - Film Extrusion Engineering Services
37 Ship Channel Road; South Portland, Maine 04106-5136
Bus phone; (207)-741-2407; fax 2409; Cell: (207)-233-3480; Home;
(207)-799-6382
E-mail; Knittelsportland at juno.com; Winter Office; 7657 Bergamo Ave;
Sarasota, FL 34238-4765; Phone/Fax; (941)-924-5186