This Week in the Shack

A couple of days ago, the father/father-in-law of two of my closest friends passed away, and I was asked to create a playlist of New Orleans music for the wake. For the last few weeks, it's seemed as if death decided to hang out amongst my friends, as so many have lost loved ones - and that project sort of expanded upon itself to become this week's radio show, one that begins with traditional hymns, then, turns to more upbeat music.

"The rule was, you played them into the cemetery with sadness, but you left grief at the side of the grave. You'd remember them...but the pain would go into the tomb with the coffin, dead and buried. When the funeral procession emerged from the gates of the St. Louis Cemetery and crossed Rue des Ramparts to make its way back to the dead man's home, the music would be the strut of joy and pride, a gesture of happy defiance waved under Death's pinched nose. You might have snatched our friend from out of our midst, but all you got was dirt and bones. God's got his soul, and we have the memory of his laugh.
--Barbara Hambly, "Dead and Buried"



This week's show is for the loved ones of my friends and loved ones who have passed in the last few weeks: Richard Wright, Mandy Akin McRae, Ed Stapp, Barbara Des Chenes, Amanda Horstman, Lani's grandfather, and Susan's mother.


1. Glen David Andrews - Rock of Ages (6:17)
2. Kermit Ruffins/ReBirth Brass Band - Just a Closer Walk With Thee (5:19)
3. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - Is There Anybody here That Loves My Jesus (3:06)
4. Preservation Hall Jazz Band - His Eye Is on the Sparrow (6:11)
5. Dr. Michael White - Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (3:57)
6. Dr. John - Didn't He Ramble (3:28)
7. Glen David Andrews - Down by the Riverside (5:39)
8. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - I Shall Not Be Moved (4:58)
9. Sidney Bechet - Muskrat Ramble (3:42)
10. Sammy Price - Honey Grove Blues (3:48)
11. Professor Longhair - Tipitina (2:39)
12. Dr. Michael White - Algiers Hoodoo Woman (7:51)
13. Wynton Marsalis - New Orleans Bump (4:32)
14. New Orleans Jazz Vipers - Blue Drag (4:23)
15. Kid Thomas & His Algiers Stompers - Hindustan (3:03)
16. Billie & De De Pierce - Eh, La Bas (3:16)
17. Preservation Hall - Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well (6:41)
18. Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band - St. James Infirmary (3:19)
19. Sidney Bechet - Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho (3:19)
20. Hot 8 Brass Band; The Blind Boys of Alabama - I'll Fly Away (4:27)
21. Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Little Liza Jane (5:55)
22. Sammy Price - Struttin' With Georgia (9:45)
23. Rebirth Brass Band - Just A Little While To Stay Here (6:18)
24. Kid Ory - Bourbon Street Parade (4:57)
25. Sidney Bechet - Egyptian Fantasy (3:01)
26. Wynton Marsalis - Smokehouse Blues (4:50)
27. Dr. Michael White - Creole Nights (6:11)
28. Sidney Bechet - Dear Old Southland (4:02)
29. Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Do Lord (7:24)
30. New Orleans All Star Stompers - Strutting With Some Barbecue (6:29)
31. ReBirth Brass Band - Glory, Glory/Jesus on the Mainline (4:55)
32. Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band - Shake That Thing (5:53)
33. Kid Thomas & His Algiers Stompers - Panama (3:08)
34. George Lewis' Ragtime Band - Ice Cream (5:48)
35. Billie & De De Pierce - Some of These Days (2:37)
36. Dr. John - Fess Up (3:12)
37. Aaron Neville - Meetin' At The Building (2:44)
38. Dr. Michael White - One Love (4:55)

(NOLA 9)