New Orleans funeral jazz band
Last Friday, the Silk Street New Orleans funeral jazz band performed on a very special procession for Lyndsay, Noah and family in Twickenham, London. This was no ordinary funeral. In fact, it wasn’t a funeral at all. It was a celebration of her Mum’s life.
Preparing for the day
Lyndsay and I spoke on the phone a number of times before the event. She wanted the day to be a celebration of her Mum’s life rather than a sombre occasion. As we got chatting, I found out her Mum was a big fan of Jazz – particularly the band of Ball, Barber and Bilk. What’s more, her Mum was a regular visitor to the famous Eel Pie Island back in the 1950s. Lyndsay chose to hire the full 7-piece band. She wanted the sound to carry all over Twickenham embankment in true New Orleans funeral jazz band style!
New Orleans funeral jazz band: Repertoire
Lyndsay and her sister emailed us a couple of days before and selected some of her Mum’s favourite songs from our repertoire list. These included Stranger on The Shore, After You’ve Gone, Midnight in Moscow and Just a Closer Walk With Thee.
A Celebration of Life with a New Orleans funeral jazz band
It was important that we started the procession in a reflective and appropriate way. The full band struck up with the New Orleans dirge ‘St. James’ Infirmary’. As we crossed the bridge, the flourish of the clarinet, the slide of the trombone and the fanfare of the trumpet signalled a change in mood. The brighter, up-tempo When The Saints Go Marching In lifted the celebrations. We led guests up the steps into Twickenham Rowing Club. There, eulogies were read and a fish and chip supper followed. Guests danced the night away to the sounds of New Orleans Jazz. At the end of the evening, fireworks lit up the skies in Twickenham. As friends and relatives said their final goodbyes, we performed a very reflective Acker Bilk song called ‘She’, led by our fantastic clarinet player.
Testimonial
Lyndsay was kind enough to write to us the following day to let us know how we made her Mum’s celebration so special:
“Hi Jonathan and the band. Thanks so much for helping to make Mum’s send off so great. We all really enjoyed the music and it gave our celebration a magic edge. Please find attached article from the Richmond and Twickenham Times. Thanks to all of you (and say a particular hi to the clarinet player from my sister-in-law!) Best regards to you all”
She also sent us some photos from the evening. We uploaded them (with her permission) to Facebook to share, including the article mentioned above.
New Orleans funeral band: Hire today
Silk Street Jazz is one of the best funeral bands in the UK. For friendly and compassionate help, give us a call today on 0800 756 5512 or fill out an enquiry form. We can make the day personal and memorable with a Funeral Jazz Band. We also perform at weddings, parties and corporate functions.
Please see the funerals page of our website for further information on Funeral Band hire.