Jazz and All Saints Sunday

The feasts of All Saints on November 1 and All Souls on November 2 are traditional liturgies of Catholic and Protestant churches. Though these liturgies celebrate the lives of the saints, known and unknown, who have passed on, our faith tells us that "life has changed, not ended." Christians celebrate the death of their loved ones through the lens of hope and faith.

It’s in this spirit that we present a jazz liturgy for All Saints' Day here at Resurrection on November 3, 2024. We have often had jazz liturgies here, but never at this particular time in the liturgical year.

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When Pastor Darryl shared his idea with me, I began thinking about a celebration where jazz and rejoicing and death are mixed together. My thoughts went to New Orleans and a musical tradition I haven't had the good fortune to see yet: the jazz funeral. The liturgy we're inviting the community to is very much a jubilant jazz funeral centered in the death and resurrection of Jesus. We will sing and hear songs about death and life, hope and promise along with Chicago jazz musicians Chris Greene and Marc Piane.

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Of course, many cultures celebrate this weekend. Very popular in U.S. culture in recent years, is the Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican celebration of the faithful departed on November 2. There is music and song, marigolds and sugar skulls, dressing up in colorful costumes and altars decorated with pictures of loved ones.

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The jazz funeral of New Orleans is just as celebratory as the Mexican Day of the Dead. It has its roots in European and African roots, according to a 2021 article (https://www.thelivingurn.com/blogs/news/new-orleans-jazz-funeral) The tradition began with the brass bands playing at military funerals. African spiritual practices from the Yoruba were added to this, and in the 1800s all ethnic communities participated. In the early 1900s, the white community began to look down on the jazz funeral, considering the spirited rejoicing to be disrespectful, and it was suppressed. Thankfully the Jazz Funeral was recognized by the wider community as a cultural treasure in the 1960s, and it is an event people come to New Orleans for.

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A Jazz Funeral is ritualized, with an order of events somewhat like liturgies at church. There is a wake, then a procession by family members while dirges are played by the band. The people following the band are called "the second line" and are usually somewhat more spirited than the mourners at the front of the procession. This spirited rejoicing happens at specific moments before the entire group reaches the church.