Living Legends of Jazz - "Uncle" Lionel Batiste

"Uncle" Lionel Batiste credit: Donn Young

Much of the unique nature of New Orleans has come from a series of eccentric personalities whose style and manner have inspired and influenced generations. One such character is “Uncle” Lionel Batiste. Born in the Treme section of New Orleans, which borders the French Quarter, Batiste comes from a family of musicians and good-timers fully absorbed in the pleasurable side of Crescent City life.

Growing up, he had music all around him, and at eleven Batiste began playing the bass drum in brass bands for community parades and funerals. He also learned to sing, dance, and play the kazoo. In the 1930s he and a group of friends formed the Dirty Dozen Kazoo Band, which paraded whenever boxer Joe Louis won fights.

Musical activities were more fun than profession, so to make a living Batiste worked dozens of jobs, from bricklayer to funeral home embalmer. For many years, in the evenings the twice-widowed Batiste made regular rounds of neighborhood bars and homes to socialize with friends and strangers. Always impeccably dapper in boldly colored suits topped off with matching derby and an assortment of pins and jewelry, his mere appearance, complete with his humorous retorts, was a local event.

In 1995 “Uncle” Lionel became a founding member of Benny Jones’ Treme Brass Band as bass drummer, lead singer, and assistant leader, and he has since been a popular fixture with the band locally and internationally. He is seen in the poignant funeral sequence with the Treme Band in Spike Lee’s Katrina-inspired documentary When the Levees Broke. In recent years Batiste has sung on several recordings and has been a guest grand marshal, singer, and bass drummer in numerous European jazz festival parades.

Batiste stayed in New Orleans during Katrina. He escaped being trapped in rising floodwaters by swimming to a bridge and using his bass drum to keep him afloat. He spent several months recuperating privately with family, but has since returned to being a local institution.

Batiste continues to play regularly with the very active Treme Brass Band, recently completing a successful European tour. His reappearance on the scene has been likened to the return of the spirit and soul of New Orleans.