[Dixielandjazz] Uncle Lionel Batiste --Treme' band bass drummer dies

[Norman Vickers]

To:  Musicians and Jazzfans list;  DJML
From:  Norman Vickers, Jazz Society of Pensacola

Here's obituary from New York Times about the death of Uncle Lionel Batiste,
of the musical Batiste family.  He was assistant leader of Treme' brass
band--vocalist, and bass drummer.
Those of you who are familiar with HBO series, Treme', likely have seen him
on that show.  

Personal disclosure:  I do not subscribe to HBO, so had to wait for the
first year to come out on DVD.  I watched three episodes and found that it
was a long soap opera, had  sex scenes not  necessarily enhancing the story,
and  with only incidental music.  So I gave up.  Some  friends tell me that
writing has improved and there is more music. I take their word for it.
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NEW YORK TIMES
Lionel Batiste, Brass Band Drummer, Dies at 81
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 8, 2012 
. 
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Lionel Batiste, the bass drummer, vocalist and assistant
leader of the Treme Brass Band and the face of the Treme neighborhood's
bicentennial, died here Sunday. He was 81. 

Benny Jones Sr., the brass band's leader, confirmed the death. He said Mr.
Batiste had been ill for about a month before he died, but did not specify
the cause of death. 
Mr. Jones said Mr. Batiste (pronounced buh-TEEST), a fixture on the New
Orleans music scene known professionally as Uncle Lionel Batiste, had played
the bass drum since childhood and had been with the Treme Brass Band since
it was formed in 1995. 
The clarinetist Michael White, another New Orleans musician, said Mr.
Batiste had used his drum to stay afloat in the floods after Hurricane
Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. 
The "Treme 2012" poster is a photograph of Mr. Batiste. Toni Rice of the New
Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network said that part of the money from
poster sales would be used to help with Mr. Batiste's medical and funeral
costs. 
Mr. Batiste was also frequently seen on the HBO series "Treme."