John Brunious
Trumpeter John Brunious, a fixture at the helm of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for 20 years, has died at age 67. His funeral will take place this Friday, February 22. He will be honored with a jazz funeral second line procession this Saturday, February 23 at 1pm.
The Celebrity Series presented Mr. Brunious and the Pres Hall band countless times over his tenure, always in Symphony Hall. I remember a touching moment when the band played a post-Katrina benefit to open our 2006-2007 season. The band played a beautiful show, complete with wacky old cartoons on a giant screen and a thrilling guest appearance by Ellis Marsalis. The band came to the Cajun dinner that followed. John Brunious sat for the entire dinner with his trumpet on the floor beside his chair, "I don't let it out of my sight," he said. The silver-plated Conn trumpet had been a gift from the Tipitina's Foundation several months earlier. Brunious had lost six trumpets to Katrina's floodwaters and had himself been rescued from a second story window.
My favorite quote from Mr. Brunious came from Ben Jaffe as quoted in the group's press release on Brunious's passing: ‘There’s another Louis Armstrong somewhere out there in New Orleans. I’m going to find them and teach them all I got.’
Preservation Hall Jazz Band press release
New Orleans Times-Picayune obituary
Times-Picayune listing of funeral arrangements
San Francsico Chronicle obituary
Preservation Hall Jazz Band video footage of "Hindustan" featuring Brunious
John Brunious's wikipedia page
UPDATE: Photos of John Brunious' February 23 Jazz Funeral in New Orleans
No comments:
Post a Comment