Jazz Funeral

[lorajc]

Considered a great honor, this is one of the most distinguished aspects of New Orleans culture. Its roots lie in the customs of the Dahomeans and Yoruba people, and is a celebration of both the person’s life and the beauty and solemnity of their death. The procession is lead by the Grand Marshal, resplendent in his black tuxedo, white gloves and black hat in hand; almost a vision of the great Baron Samedi himself. The music begins with solemn, tolling dirges, moves into hymns of sorrow, loss and redemption. When the burial site is reached, a two-note preparatory riff is sounded, and the drummers start the second-line beat, heralding the switch in music to joyous, upbeat songs, dancing, and the unfurling of richly decorated umbrellas by the “second line”: friends, family, loved ones and stray celebrants. Strutting, bouncing, and festive dance accompanies the upbeat ragtime music that sends the departed soul onto its next journey.

Didn't he ramble
... he rambled
Rambled all around
... in and out of town
Didn't he ramble
... didn't he ramble
He rambled till the butcher cut him down.

His feet was in the market place
... his head was in the street
Lady pass him by, said
... look at the market meat
He grabbed her pocket book
... and said I wish you well
She pulled out a forty-five
... said I'm head of personnel.

Didn't he ramble
... he rambled
Rambled all around
... in and out of town
Didnâ't he ramble
... didn't he ramble
He rambled till the butcher cut him down.

He slipped into the cat house
... made love to the stable
Madam caught him cold
... said I'll pay you when I be able
Six months had passed
... and she stood all she could stand
She said buddy when I'm through with you
Ole groundhog gonna be shakin yo' hand.

Didn't he ramble
... he rambled
Rambled all around
... in and out of town
Didn't he ramble
... didn't he ramble
He rambled till the butcher cut him down.

I said he rambled
... lord
... 'till the butcher shot him down.

Bittersweet bay rum, bourbon, and a host of funeral flowers with a touch of graveyard dirt, magnolia and Spanish Moss.

This is going to be short and sweet, as this scent did not work on me and I don't like to do negative reviews. In short, I cannot wear booze scents with more than a hint of booze in them and this is just a touch too much bourbon for me. I'm not really into dirt scents either and this is mainly bourbon and dirt on me with florals and moss in the background.

ETA: Upon a 2nd and 3rd try of this, the booze is nowhere near as prominent. I may need to test this further. Actually last night after it dried down for an hour or so, it smelled really good.

[ChupaChup]

Jazz Funeral is the second imp I've tried from my latest order, the first being The Hamptons. Wow, I really struck gold with the booze scents! If you like bourbon, this may just be the scent for you.

 

I love how this scent unfolds, even if I don't like all the stages. It made me smile as I'm sure this is exactly what Beth intended, it's like a funeral procession that is very somber and sad at first and then ends with a big, drunken party! In the first stage, there is that moist almost rotting vegetation smell that is so evocative of New Orleans. If you've tried Bayou or Hurricane you'll know the note, I think it's the Spanish Moss. I'm not fond of this stage but since it disappears completely I'm ok that it's there. Next comes the floral stage but this is in no way a heady, over-the-top floral, the florals are muted and almost like dried flowers. Eventually the bourbon starts to rise up and eventually it takes over completely. I can't really pick out the bay rum at all, it may have been in the floral stage and I just missed it. This is one of those wild ride scents, the kind of perfume that makes BPAL what it is, an amazing experience. Great job, Beth!

[hangingfire]

In the bottle: Moss, dirt, bourbon, something floral. Just the slightest bit sickly.

 

On, wet: The sickliness is gone; now it's primarily about the flowers, shot through with a sharp green note from the bay rum. It puts me directly in mind of Audobon Park, one of my favorite places in all of New Orleans. It's like walking through the park on a late spring/early summer day, just hot enough to feel it.

 

Drydown: Floral, sweet, and green all the way. I really like how the green note balances the flowers, and how it's all underscored by the darker, mossy, earthy notes.

 

This one's a big ol' winner. Good thing I bought a 5 mL.

[AliBabble]

jazz funeral is a very lively scent..perky and alive, despite the deathliness of it. it's heavily earthy and mossy, dirt mixed with something quite sweet and almost lemony. i think i'm finding out that "dirt" scents aren't so pleasant for me. they make me feel claustrophobic, for some reason. but this does capture a feeling about new orleans..kind of wild and overgrown, ancient, a little forbidding, yet dignified and graceful. the dry-down is a green, mossy floral, with the earthy undercurrent. i have to say i didn't smell much bourbon or bay rum...more like bay leaves, actually. anyhow, this scent does capture a certain damp dreaminess...

[LiberAmoris]

Wow, this one is absolutely true to description on me. It's dirt (like in Graveyard Dirt) with bay rum and the flower/moss twist that I feel like I recognize from the sexy, swampy NOLA-inspired blends in the general catalog. The bourbon note is a topnote on me---it's fleeting and burns off by the time the drydown kicks in.

 

The end result is a mossy bay rum with just the tiniest hint of the magnolia. I really like it, but I don't need more than an imp of it, as I probably will use it to call up memories of New Orleans rather than wear it as perfume. This seems much more solemn than the Jazz Funerals I've seen, but somehow that feels right.

[Xiabelle]

Another one that didn't quite work on me....

 

In the imp this is bourbon and flowers. Greenery over a glass. Not bad, although I'm a bit apprehensive.

 

Fresh on... oh, yuck. It smells like weeds! It's that dirty, humid hanging in the air scent, like I've stepped too close to a ditch after a rain as the summer sun starts to burn off the water. This is very humid, and if I were out somewhere that I smelled this, I'd expect to be eaten alive by mosquitoes. We get this smell in Houston sometimes, and I can see why it's evocative of New Orleans; the climate is much the same. I don't like this, and it makes my nose itch and I keep thinking I want to sneeze. If it smelled a bit more like fresh loam I would like it better.

 

The first stage calms a bit, but I still get weeds for about an hour, and it's almost but not quite enough for me to scrub it off. It dries and settles down to flowers, but still with the dirt in it. But they're not quite flowers like I want... definitely somber flowers, and the dirt is getting to be too much.

 

Final drydown is booze and a hint of green. It's like greenery again, but with more booze in it. The downside is this is totally faint on me now, by the time it gets to this stage, and while it's much more pleasant, I'm not sure that the last two stages overpower the first for me.

[kmasden]

So far I am soo sad about this one. I really like the almost citrusy sweet zing it has on me in the beginning, but I find the dirt/moss note to be the kind that just makes me a little bit nauseous....It's not the oil, it's my sensitivity to this particular note or family of notes. As much as I love the dirt smell, i can't handle this particular dead, squishy, mossy, algea type smell....like stale swampwater perhaps. Now mind you it is not dominant and those that love that earthiness will probalby love this. It is beautifully blended and sweet yet earthy, but alas, the same bottom i couldn't handle in say queen of clubs...feels similiar to me here....alas...

 

And I vow...and I've said this for a while....when i die, i want a jazz funeral....so i don't know if i can part with it just for that sake...maybe it will be perfect anointment for the day i die...you know, as morbid as that sounds that makes me feel peaceful...thank you Beth!

[shelldoo]

in the vial: fresh soil, a hint of mossy goodness, and a really light touch of florals

 

wet: wow the dirt note fades as soon as it touches my skin, the moss is barely there, but a big flower arrangement bursts to the fore. lucky for me, it is not the flowers that do evil things w/ my chemistry this is fresh and beautiful

 

as it dries, the soil note pops in and out but i wouldn't say it is prominent, the spanish moss smells just as it does hanging on the tree branches in the deep south. the flowers blend in perfectly , and there is just the slightest touch of alcoholic vibe that completes this scent and makes it capture the very essence of it's namesake.

[TroubleDoll]

I have been sniffing BPAL for a while. When I first started, I loved almost everything. Then it seemed like the bar was raised, and while I like most imps I get, I have become more picky and have not found a new love for a while.

 

Jazz Funeral has changed all that. It is fantastic.

 

At first, it is sort of muddy-citrusy, like Zombi with the rose replaced with sweetgrass. A green note hovers.

 

As it warms up, it begins to sweeten and the florals gently peek out.

 

The dry down is the best part. Green and blue, a uniquely orchestrated melody of blue and green. It ends up rather herbal, but almost aquatic and creamy to my nose. Fresh and warm.

 

[wickedgoddess]

Rum, bourbon and magnolia? I was expecting to love this so much that I saved this bottle for last. And yet wet, this smelled almost like cleaning fluid. Generally I love boozy notes in my perfume, so this makes me sad. As it dries, the graveyard dirt comes on strong, along with something that tickles my nose. It smells like dust. Dust and cleaning fluid. Hmmm..this just isn't going to work on me. Consider me heartbroken.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2.

[coulrophobe]

Dirt blends don't really work for me, but I keep trying 'em.

 

In the imp: Yes, that's dirt. A bit moldy, but the soil blends always strike me that way.

 

On: After I let this dry for a few minutes, I smell lemons and soil. It's a sweet, earthy scent, and I'm surprised that anything's able to get past the dirt smell - soil notes tend to be very strong with my chemistry. And then something vaguely perfumey emerges - the florals are coming out. Strangely, I only get fleeting hints of the booze notes once in a while.

 

Verdict: This is the best soil-blend I've tried; the dirt settles into the background and provides a gritty undertone, but doesn't dominate the blend. It's still a little earthy for my tastes, but much better than anticipated.

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

Bright, boozy and creamy.

 

On

Woo! I smell Bourbon. As soon as the alcohol bourbon smell calms down a bit, a fresh water smell with soil/earth is present. Very nice. In her review "Troubledoll" described what I'm smelling exactly when she said... "like Zombi with the rose replaced with sweetgrass".

 

30 minutes

The scent has not strayed from the earthy, fresh green smell.

 

Throw:

average

 

Scent category:

Earthy

 

Summary

Initially in the bottle and wet on the skin it's creamy, sweet and filled with bourbon.

As it's drying it's Earthy, boozy, fresh air/ fresh water smelling. Yes, I know it's weird but I smell fresh water, I dunno either.

On my skin it smells so much like one took "Amsterdam" and "Zombi" and mixed them.

How it can go from creamy to fresh is beyond me but it's part of it's magic I guess.

When dry, it is Earth, Air, Water and Fire all at once to me. Mossy earth, fresh air (the sweetgrass smell does that to my nose sometimes), water (dunno) and bourbon (fire ). I've still got the glow of the bourbon in my stomach. Bravo.

 

Purchase again?

Yes. A 10ml. This is quite unique.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4.5

Edited November 28, 2005 by UltraViolet

[bodegaselkie]

Jazz Funeral appealed to me particularly because of the bourbon aspect and the Spanish moss, which I love in Zombi. In the bottle the Spanish moss is strong, but on me, the moss is mingled with the flowers -- which are a wee bit too floral for me. As it dries the bourbon and rum come out, but everything else fades ... until about an hour later it's just sweet, powdery bourbon, and only very faint. Jazz Funeral is quite nice, but doesn't last and is too floral for my taste.

Edited November 12, 2005 by bodegaselkie

[Fefferbella]

OMG... this is burbon and floral on my skin...

 

Delicious and sensual.

 

5ml bottle in on the way!

 

ADDED Dec. 17:

 

Wow this captures the "spirit" of a New Orleans Jazz Funeral. It's a celebration of life- and what better way to celebrate then with BOOZE.

 

Sweet, faded floral notes of Magnolia and Gardenia compliment the rich boozy Bourbon and the subtle musty earth notes. I really love this blend.

 

It fades quickly to a pure sweet Bourbon note. Very pretty!

[cupide430]

Jazz Funeral

This is a complete surprise to me. Earthy and ozoney at the same time. Very fresh and a bit green smelling with a very deep note underneath. There's almost a fruity floral aspect here-- alongside the ozone-y notes. This works on me far better than I thought it would. It still might be a bit mossy for me, but a great scent experience.

[Nachtwulf]

In the imp, this is sort of like...well, someone said 'Zombi with the roses replaced' and it is... it has the same sour/rancid smell that I got off Zombi, that I was attributing to roses. Guess it's not the rose after all. There's a bit of sweet magnolia and booze, but mostly... I get 'sour dirt'. Graveyard Dirt is a lighter, wetter smell to me than the dirt/moss in Zombi.

 

This lasts for a minute or two while it's wet, but then, poof, it all goes away again. I still get a bit of the sour dirt, but only up really close. From any distance at all, it's like Bayou, but with the sweetness of bourbon and bay rum, very light and pleasant and less plantlike. Basically an aquatic floral, the other things give it just a bit of warmth and spice that it wouldn't otherwise have.

 

Although I don't think I'll wear it much, it's a very interesting and complex scent, and I'm going to be keeping the imp. It's a good 'day to day' scent, since it's not overwhelming; the sort of thing you'd wear if you're going to be around other people and don't want to gas them out with something strong and overly recognizeable. On me at least, the enjoyment comes from the throw, since wrist-snurfling keeps turning up that sourness.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Definitely flowers, a nice bouquet.

 

Just On: Lots of flowers, and something watery.

 

An hour or two later: Watery flowers, with a hint of soap.

 

Around 6 hours: Kinda watery flowers, maybe a hint of some kind of spice, not quite as soapy. But I still think my skin is in some kind of conspiracy against me wearing the pretty floral scents.

 

12 hours: Tiny bit of soapy smell, a rather fresh soap as opposed to a nasty one.

 

Overall: I love it in the imp, so I want to try it in my hair or something, because it's pretty. My skin seems to make it so much less than it really is.

 

After reading other reviews: Goodness, I really didn't get all the much dirt/mossy scent out of this at all. If I were able to take out that bit of soapyness, I might find I could wear this much better, but my skin just screws up so many flowers that it's not even funny. Not sure I'm willing to buy a big bottle, but it's tempting.

[leapylees]

In the bottle - floral, a little fruity, a little watery and graveyard dirt peeking out from the background.

 

On - fades pretty quickly, but the graveyard dirt is the most prominant note (YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!....) with some light watery florals and mossiness. I don't get the boozy notes at all.

 

Overall - I'm glad I bought a 5ml of this. It's going to be a lovely scent for the spring.

[Kittyflop]

First Sniff: Fruit ‘n flowers!

 

Drydown: That fruity note morphs quickly into something citrusy. Then boozy. It keeps changing! This is one boisterous, partying funeral. No graveyard dirt yet though.

 

After a few minutes, the sweetness from the first sniff has receded. And now – strong booze! And now the soil comes through. This is very earthy, but there are still florals standing up and saying yeah! That was the life! There is still a citrus tang to it all, too.

 

This is fascinating, complex and continuously morphing. Very apt. Love it.

[herbhealer]

This dried almost immediately to a sweet bouquet of flowers, with a touch of powder. Once I think I detected what might be rum (probably the bourbon). Over time, the powderiness intensified, started tickling my nose and made me sneeze. Back to the swap pile! Loved this in the bottle - I could smell more greenery.

[malanna]

Graveyard dirt, but a dark dirt. I can detect some moss in the background. Yet, there's something very sweet. It doesn't stick out as flowers, yet it doesn't smell entirely like rum, either. Maybe it's a combination. Or bourbon. Not sure what bourbon smells like. After more than five hours, the sweetness is the primary note here, and I can't really smell the dirt or moss anymore (I can sort of detect the moss, though). It really smells like funeral flowers, but I can't pick out individual flowers. It's a dark floral bouquet, though. Overall, the sweetness isn't the type of sweetness I go for.

[Little Bird]

I was so certain that I would hate this one. Boozy scents and the smell of dirt in perfumes usually make me sick. I also expected this to be sickly solemn, as most of the funereal oils have been on me. Surprisingly, this is very lively and pleasant.

 

It's like Zombi and Penny Dreadful got drunk and threw a wild party in a graveyard. The sort of party that is going to be hell to clean up in the morning.

 

I think the bay rum is stronger than the bourbon on me (I don't drink and haven't really had any personal interaction at all with booze, so I have no definite clue). This smells rather lemony on me (in a spicy cookie sort of way), and the florals are heady and spicy. Jazz Funeral has the sort of warm floral and dampness in it that I found so pleasant in Bayou. The dirt smell isn't strong on me at all.

 

This is very nice. One of the first funereal oils that I've been really happy with. I might even get a 10 ml.

[aidenraine]

I am getting a really strong "lemon drop" scent from this when it's wet. It's sweet lemons and sugar mixed with vodka. I also sense a bit of mustiness underneath. It reminds me of a lemon cleaning product I have- perhaps because the cleaning product is basically essential oils and alcohol.

 

As Jazz Funeral dries on my wrist it's a bit more like a Lipton tea with lemon. I'm still feeling confused by the ingredients list.

 

Ah, there is the funeral smell. Spanish moss, definitely, something cold, and a bit of dirt. All of it soaked in that lemony-tea aroma.

 

Can't say I like it, but "interesting olfactory journey".

[SeaMonkey]

I bought a bottle of this, unsniffed.

 

I'm glad I did. Its definately bourbon, with flowers underneath, but the flowers are wilting. I'm not getting any dirt (poo, i LOVE dirt) but this is still beautiful. Its very sweet and I agree with the comparison that Zombi and Penny Dreadful threw a drunken party and had this baby.....but thankfully, no roses. The florals are possibly magnolia and something else. I can't really pick it out.

[madelf]

I'm not a floral person, in general, so I was a bit worried about Jazz Funeral.

 

My worries were completely unfounded. This scent is amazing. It's very multilayered with a light, earthy note as the base and just a touch of sweet floral. The bourbon is an amazing top note, heady, sweet, just a smidge of booze.

 

Overall, this became a new favourite. It is surpsingly warm and sweet, but the dirt makes it really interesting and distinctive.