The Young Tuxedo Brass Band – Jazz Begins: Sounds Of New Orleans Streets: Funeral And Parade Music

The Young Tuxedo Brass Band – Jazz Begins: Sounds Of New Orleans Streets: Funeral And Parade Music

Jazz Begins: Sounds Of New Orleans Streets: Funeral And Parade Music is an extraordinary document of traditional New Orleans brass band music, originally released by Atlantic Records in 1959. Recorded in New Orleans in November 1958, the album captures the Young Tuxedo Brass Band performing the music associated with the city's distinctive funeral and parade traditions. Rather than presenting a conventional jazz album, it preserves a living musical practice rooted in the streets, community and ceremonial life of New Orleans.

The Young Tuxedo Brass Band was founded by John Casimir, who also serves as the band's clarinetist and leader on these recordings. The ensemble continued the New Orleans brass band tradition associated with the earlier Tuxedo Brass Band of Papa Celestin, employing the characteristic combination of trumpets, trombones, reeds, sousaphone and percussion. The 1958 sessions featured musicians including John Casimir, Andrew Anderson, John Brunious, Albert Walters, Clement Tervalon, Eddie Pierson, Jim Robinson, Herman Sherman, Andrew Morgan, Wilbert Tillman and Emile Knox, with veteran drummer Paul Barbarin also participating.

The first side, “Going To The Cemetery”, presents the slower, solemn side of the New Orleans jazz funeral tradition. “Lead Me Saviour” and “Eternal Peace” establish the reflective mood before the “Medley Of Hymns” combines “Flee As A Bird”, “Nearer My God To Thee” and “Pleyel's Hymn”. The side concludes with “Just A Closer Walk With Thee” and “Bourbon Street Parade”, creating a musical transition from mourning towards celebration. Contemporary British jazz criticism noted that this material was deeply connected to its original outdoor and ceremonial setting rather than simply being conventional studio jazz.

The second side represents “Coming Back From The Cemetery”, where the character of the music changes dramatically. “Lord Lord Lord” and “Just A Little While To Stay Here” retain the gospel influence, before “Panama” and “It Feels So Good” introduce a more animated parade atmosphere. The side culminates in “Joe Avery's Piece” and “John Casimir's Whoopin' Blues”, with the latter part of the album providing the exuberant, swinging counterpart to the solemn opening.

One of the album's most fascinating features is the contrast between slow funeral music and exuberant street jazz. New Orleans jazz funerals traditionally move from a church or cemetery with solemn hymns towards a more celebratory procession afterwards, and Jazz Begins captures that transformation in musical form. The album therefore provides not only a collection of traditional jazz performances but also an unusually direct document of the cultural setting in which New Orleans brass band music developed.

The recordings were produced by Nesuhi Ertegun, engineered by Tom Dowd, with liner notes by jazz writer Charles Edward Smith. The album was subsequently recognised as an important historical document of New Orleans jazz, with the original recordings later included in the Atlantic New Orleans Jazz Sessions collection.

For collectors of New Orleans jazz, traditional jazz, brass band music, jazz funerals and vintage Atlantic Records vinyl, Jazz Begins is an essential record. It captures the sound of an operating New Orleans parade band at a pivotal moment, preserving music that was designed for the street rather than the recording studio. The combination of gospel hymns, funeral dirges, brass band standards and raucous parade pieces makes this a particularly evocative and historically important jazz LP.

Tracklist

Side A – Going To The Cemetery

1. Lead Me Saviour – 2:05
2. Eternal Peace – 3:37
3. Medley Of Hymns – 4:05
   • Flee As A Bird
   • Nearer My God To Thee
   • Pleyel's Hymn
4. Just A Closer Walk With Thee – 3:56
5. Bourbon Street Parade – 3:42

Side B – Coming Back From The Cemetery

1. Lord Lord Lord – 2:43
2. Just A Little While To Stay Here – 3:20
3. Panama – 2:55
4. It Feels So Good – 4:47
5. Joe Avery's Piece – 3:01
6. John Casimir's Whoopin' Blues – 3:13