A jazz funeral is a New Orleans funeral procession led by a brass band. It moves slow on the way to the burial, with hymns and dirges, and then the band "cuts the body loose," the music turns up-tempo, and the street starts dancing.
If you've only seen one in a movie, you probably saw the second half. That's the part with the umbrellas. The first half is quieter, and it matters more.
Visitors ask us about jazz funerals behind the counter on Magazine Street and Chartres Street more than you'd think, usually right after they've walked into one by accident. So here's what's going on, where it comes from, and how to be a decent guest when the band turns the corner.
Where the Jazz Funeral Comes From
In his entry for 64 Parishes, the Louisiana encyclopedia, Matt Sakakeeny traces the tradition to two roots: brass band funerals among Europeans and Anglo-Americans, and West African burial customs that include rejoicing at death. After slavery ended, Black funerals with brass bands became common here. By the early 1900s, those bands were playing jazz.
Then there's the money side, which nobody puts in the movies. Benevolent societies collected dues all year to cover members' sick care and burial costs, and for an extra fee they could provide a band. Some of those societies are still around, and we explain how they work in Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, Explained. The Young Men Olympian Jr. Benevolent Association, which the Historic New Orleans Collection says was incorporated in 1884, began as a mutual aid group that helped families with funerals at a time when Black residents were often shut out of health and death insurance. Its parading tradition grew out of club musicians marching deceased members to the cemetery.
The Dirge: The Slow Walk
A jazz funeral usually leaves from a church or a funeral home. The band plays slow hymns and spirituals. New Orleans & Company gives "Nearer My God to Thee" as an example.
Up front are the people 64 Parishes calls the first line: the musicians, the funeral directors, the family, close friends. They set the pace. It's a walk, and a heavy one, and if you happen to be standing on the sidewalk you'll feel the block go quiet around it.
The Release: "Cutting the Body Loose"
After the burial, the body is cut loose. The band picks up the tempo, maybe with "Didn't He Ramble" or "When the Saints Go Marching In," and the procession turns into a street celebration. The crowd that falls in behind the band and dances is the second line. We wrote a whole piece on what a second line is if you want the long version.
People who didn't grow up with it sometimes find the switch jarring. Sakakeeny describes the jazz funeral as celebrating life at the moment of death, which is about as clear as anyone has put it. You mourn the person. Then you send them off dancing.
Who Gets a Jazz Funeral?
Traditionally, according to 64 Parishes, a jazz funeral honored a prominent member of the community, often a musician and nearly always a Black man. New Orleans & Company notes that most still honor musicians, though non-musicians can have one too.
Club membership is a big part of it. Groups like the Black Men of Labor Social Aid and Pleasure Club organize traditional funerals, and the Young Men Olympians still hold a procession with a band when a member dies. A family chooses this. It's an honor the community gives, and the music is played by people who knew the deceased or know the tradition well enough to carry it. If you want to know the bands, start with our Brass Bands 101.
Jazz Funeral Etiquette for Visitors
New Orleans & Company says passersby are encouraged to join in, as long as they're respectful. That last part is doing a lot of work, so here's what respectful looks like from where we stand:
- Stay behind the band and the family. The first line belongs to them. You're welcome in the second line, which is the back.
- Wait for the release. Don't start dancing during the dirge. You'll know when the music changes. Everyone will.
- Keep your phone out of people's faces. A photo from the curb is one thing. Walking up into a grieving family's line with a camera held out is another.
- Don't treat it like a show put on for you. It's somebody's father, or somebody's bandmate, and the people around you knew him.
If you're not sure, follow the lead of the older folks on the sidewalk. They've done this before.
Where the Tradition Lives the Rest of the Year
You won't find jazz funerals on a schedule, and you shouldn't go looking for one. If you want to understand the culture behind them, start in Treme, and with the Backstreet Cultural Museum, which works to preserve Black street culture in New Orleans: jazz funerals, social aid and pleasure clubs, Black Masking Indians (often called Mardi Gras Indians), Baby Dolls and Skull and Bone gangs.
We support the museum with our Second Line 'Til You Drop shirt, and a portion of what it brings in goes to them. If you'd rather carry the slow half of the tradition home with you, our Dirge postcard does it quietly.
And if you catch a Sunday second line while you're in town, you'll see a lot of the same music and footwork, just without the hearse. WWOZ posts the parade schedule, and we wrote about the station too.
Jazz Funeral: FAQ
What is a jazz funeral in New Orleans?
A jazz funeral is a funeral procession led by a brass band. The band plays slow hymns and dirges on the way to the burial, then switches to up-tempo music afterward while mourners and neighbors dance in the street.
What does "cutting the body loose" mean?
It's the moment after the burial when the procession lets go of the deceased. The band changes from dirges to celebratory music, and the crowd behind it, the second line, starts to dance.
Can visitors join a jazz funeral?
Yes, if they're respectful. Stay behind the band and the family, wait until the music turns up-tempo before you dance, and don't push into the family's line with a camera.
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