Exhibits

The Passing Parade

New Orleans' Brass Band Tradition

A Touring Exhibit Presented by New Orleans Jazz Celebration

The exhibit will be on display at the Jazz and Heritage Foundation Gallery located at 1205 North Rampart St, from 10am to 4pm, Monday thru Friday through the end of July. There is no charge to view the exhibit so stop by and check it out

“The Passing Parade: New Orleans’ Brass Band Tradition” is a multimedia and interactive display illustrating the rich history of this unique musical genre. Using colorful imagery drawn by illustrator and African American historian Chuck Siler, the history of New Orleans Brass Bands is told  in conjunction with “informances” when possible, which use live brass band  and study materials as educational tools.  

A touch screen display on one side of the exhibit offers a detailed history of brass bands with many archival photos, text and sound clips. The screen is surrounded by a beautifully designed display of second line sashes, corsages and umbrellas created by Mardi Gras Indian matriarch Herreast Harrison. The goal is to depict the evolution and persistent presence of brass bands in New Orleans from the military origins of the Civil War to the popular touring groups of the 20th and 21st centuries. The exhibit also demonstrates the importance of the brass band in terms of the cultural sociology of New Orleans traditions such as the Second Line and Jazz Funeral traditions. At its debut event on April 20, 2010, the respected Treme Brass Band played as the general public viewed the exhibit.

The Passing Parade exhibit consists of a curved free standing pop up display wall measuring 8’ wide and 7 ½’ high. A portable touch screen is positioned on stand in concave side centered with wall displaying archival images and artwork. Chuck Siler image covers whole convex side with video viewer to side.

This exhibit was produced by New Orleans Jazz Celebration with assistance from the Louisiana State Museum, the Hogan Jazz Archives of Tulane University, the New Orleans Jazz Commission and the New Orleans International Music Colloquium.

 Artwork is by Chuck Siler and Herreast Harrison.  Exhibit Text written by Jack Stewart, Angelo Sphere and Jason Patterson. Research done by Jack Stewart, Jerry Brock, Chuck Siler and Angelo Sphere.

This exhibit is made possible by support from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival & Foundation, Inc., the Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. In Kind Support by the GHB Foundation and John O’Dell.

Informational exhibits are an essential part of New Orleans Jazz Celebration’s outreach program. Containing archival photos along with explanatory text, our exhibits allow viewers to quickly absorb information about the rich historical foundation of modern day New Orleans Jazz. Tours of our exhibits target the general public and school students from low income communities through visits to the exhibit’s host facility in their area, as well as travel internationally as part of our cultural exchanges.

Brass Band Video gallery

Rebirth Brass Band

Storyville Stompers Brass Band

Olympia Brass Band

Scene from the 1973 James Bond Movie "Live & Let Die"

Eureka Brass Band

Soul Rebels Brass Band

Hot 8 Brass Band

TBC Brass Band

 Chuck Perkins- Jazz Funeral

 Brass Band of the Civil War

music by the Federal City Brass Band

 Free Agents Brass Band & Pigeon Town Steppers

 Funerals and Parades

Music by:  Isaria Brass Band, Bridge Pipers Jazz Band, New Orleans Hall Brass Band