Crescent city gives last rites to “Aints” nickname with public Jazz Funeral today
By Paul M. Banks
Perhaps no event in life can define the term “emotional roller coaster” as well as a jazz funeral.The darkest depths of despair signified by the slow, low dirges of horns eventually give way to an up tempo swing encapsulating the most euphoric of highs. In Spike Lee’s documentary “Katrina: a Requiem,” a jazz musician describes exactly what a jazz funeral symbolizes. The slow, melancholic portion represents death, and the person who has passed on. The fast, joyous music that follows expresses “yeah, you’re gone, but it was such a pleasure knowing you,” and “sure, you’ve crossed over to the other side- but let’s celebrate that you’re now in a better place than here on Earth.”
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