Tuba Player's Life Celebrated

From the Lexington Herald

The members of New Orleans' famed Dirty Dozen Brass Band were already in the studio when word arrived that one of their own, Anthony "Tuba Fats" Lacen, had passed away at 53. A veteran Crescent City street musician, Lacen was one of the first tuba players in the Dirty Dozen ranks.

Here in Kentucky, his January death went unnoticed. In New Orleans, thousands turned out for his funeral. His body was honored with a street parade that ran from Gallier Hall, where Jefferson Davis laid in state more than a century earlier, through the French Quarter and back to Lacen's 6th ward neighborhood.

"Man, this cat was famous," said Dirty Dozen baritone sax man Roger Lewis. "All the schools turned out to honor him. There must have been 300 tuba players there. He was just this big, lovable guy."

Even with death, the band plays on... Funeral for a Friend is dedicated to "Tuba Fats."

UPDATE:

More on the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.