Roll With It: Brass Bands in the Streets of New Orleans (Refiguring American Music)

"Roll With It is a firsthand account of the precarious lives of musicians in the Rebirth, Soul Rebels, and Hot 8 brass bands of New Orleans. These young men are celebrated as cultural icons for upholding the proud traditions of the jazz funeral and the second line parade, yet they remain subject to the perils of poverty, racial marginalization, and urban violence that characterize life for many black Americans. Some achieve a degree of social mobility while many more encounter aggressive policing, exploitative economies, and a political infrastructure that creates insecurities in healthcare, housing, education, and criminal justice. The gripping narrative moves with the band members from back street to backstage, before and after Hurricane Katrina, always in step with the tap of the snare drum, the thud of the bass drum, and the boom of the tuba"--Publisher's description. Roll With It Is A Firsthand Account Of The Precarious Lives Of Musicians In The Rebirth, Soul Rebels, And Hot 8 Brass Bands Of New Orleans. Prologue: Crossing The Threshold -- Introduction: Forward Motion -- Onward And Upward. A Funeral Fit For A Duke ; An Eventful History ; Second Lining With Rebirth ; Developments In The Tremé ; The Bass Brothers ; Lives In Motion ; When This Life Is Over ; Voices And Instruments ; Life At The Top -- Constraints. Down On The Corner ; Where Culture Means Business ; Bennie's Dilemma ; The Business Of Culture -- Progressions. You Don't Want To Go To War ; A Renaissance ; Tradition On Parade ; Music By Any Means Necessary ; Productive Friction -- Voices. Structural Violence, Interpersonal Violence, And Musical Articulation ; Joseph Shotgun Williams ; Why Dey Had To Kill Him? ; Dinerral Jevone Shavers ; Voices And Instruments At Dinerral's Funeral ; Voices Amplified, Muffled, And Distorted ; Voices Lost And Found -- Conclusion: Engagements -- Afterword: Music And Image In The Art Of Willie Birch / Willie Birch And Matt Sakakeeny. Matt Sakakeeny ; With Artwork By Willie Birch. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Roll With It is a firsthand account of the precarious lives of brass band musicians in New Orleans. These young men are celebrated as cultural icons for upholding the proud traditions of the jazz funeral and the second line parade, yet they remain subject to the perils of poverty, racial marginalization, and urban violence that characterize life for many black Americans. The gripping narrative follows members of the Rebirth, Soul Rebels, and Hot 8 brass bands from back street to backstage, before and after Hurricane Katrina, always in step with the tap of the snare drum, the thud of the bass drum, and the boom of the tuba. Contents 6 List of Artwork 8 Prologue. Crossing the Threshold 10 Introduction. Forward Motion 18 Chapter 1. Onward and Upward 30 Chapter 2. Constraints 86 Chapter 3. Progressions 126 Chapter 4. Voices 160 Conclusion. Engagements 196 Afterword. Image and Music in the Art of Willie Birch / Willie Birch and Matt Sakakeeny 204 Acknowledgments 212 Appendix. List of Interviews and Public Events 216 Notes 218 Bibliography 230 Index 244 Roll With It is a firsthand account of the contradictory lives of New Orleans brass-band musicians. They are celebrated as cultural icons within the music scene; outside it, they are treated as faceless black males-subject to poverty, racial marginalization, and urban violence.