Dixie Land Jazz/New Orleans

A Continuation of our look at music as art in New Orleans, the epic center of Jazz.

Dixieland, which was developed in New Orleans, is one of the earliest styles of Jazz music. The style combined earlier brass band marches, French Quadrilles, ragtime and blues with collective, polyphonic improvisation. While instrumentation and size of bands can be very flexible, the "standard" band consists of a "front line" of trumpet (or cornet), trombone, and clarinet, with a "rhythm section" of at least two of the following instruments: guitar or banjo, string bass or tuba, piano, and drums. from Wikapedia

Dixie Land Jazz (CLICK)                  from you tube

The Art of Dying,

The Lighter Side of Dying

I thought since we have looked long and hard at the serious side of death and dying it was take to take a lighter approach.  My Mother once told me, "Honey, there is only one way to get into this world and one way to get out" in other words we all must get born and we all must die.  How we go out of this world can take many forms, depending on our culture, our families, our outlook on life and our sense of humor.  Here is New Orleans it is very common to have a band follow the funeral procession playing lively Dixie Land Jazz taking one in style to the "Pearly Gates".   So lets take a walk on the lighter side and look at death with a sense of humor.


In Ghana they are very well known for creative casket making.(click)

from google image

from google image

from google image

from google image