[Dixielandjazz] John Brunious NY TIMES OBIT

[Stephen G Barbone]

Here is the NY Times Obit on John Brunious. I think he was the  
Brunious who played with Preservation Hall for the past decade or two.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone



February 18, 2008
John Brunious, 67, Louisiana Trumpeter, Is Dead

By NATE CHINEN
John Brunious, a jazz trumpeter who devoted his career to the music of  
his native New Orleans, leading the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for  
more than a dozen years, died on Tuesday in Casselberry, Fla. He was  
67 and had lived in Casselberry, outside Orlando, since being  
displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The cause was still being determined, said Lee Frank, the band’s  
manager.

Mr. Brunious cut a dignified but spirited figure at Preservation Hall,  
the antique-jazz stronghold in the French Quarter: he could usually be  
found playing and singing traditional fare to the tourists who flocked  
there. He had a bright, clear sound on trumpet and a casually  
appealing vocal style.

Like many others in New Orleans jazz circles, he came from a musical  
family. His brother Wendell Brunious is also a prominent trumpeter.  
Their father, John Brunious Sr., was a trumpeter and pianist who  
contributed to the traditional jazz repertory by transcribing songs by  
earlier musicians like the drummer Paul Barbarin.

“John was at the table when they wrote ‘Bourbon Street Parade,’ ”  
Benjamin Jaffe, the creative director of Preservation Hall, said in an  
interview in New Orleans a couple of years ago. The elder Mr. Brunious  
transcribed Mr. Barbarin’s tune. (Mr. Jaffe, who plays tuba in the  
band, is the son of Allan and Sandra Jaffe, Preservation Hall’s  
founders.)

The younger Mr. Brunious did not limit himself to playing traditional  
jazz. Growing up in the Seventh Ward, he gravitated toward bebop,  
emulating the style of Dizzy Gillespie. Later he worked as a sideman  
in rhythm and blues bands. But his absence will be felt most in the  
Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which he joined as a full-time member  
more than 20 years ago.

Mr. Brunious is survived by his wife, Terri; a son, John Jr.; two  
stepdaughters; a granddaughter; and four sisters and three brothers.

During the flooding after Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Brunious was rescued  
by boat from the roof of his apartment. He spent five days at the  
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center before being placed on a bus. Mr.  
Jaffe eventually found him through the Red Cross.

Last year, Mr. Jaffe arranged the release of “Made in New Orleans,” a  
boxed set of music by the Preservation Hall band, which includes some  
material he salvaged after the flood. Mr. Brunious sings and plays on  
a half-dozen tracks, including a poignant version of “Do You Know What  
It Means to Miss New Orleans?” recorded in 2006.