Kerry “Fatman” Hunter R.I.P.

The city of New Orleans and the brass band community lost one of the stalwarts of the scene in the first minutes of Mardi Gras morning when the snare drummer was hit by a drunken motorist while walking home. He was 53 years old.

Kerry “Fatman” Hunter played with a virtual who’s who in the brass band scene and won a Grammy award for his work with the New Orleans Nightcrawlers. Before joining that group, he was one of a new generation of brass band musicians who came up in the Tremé community under the tutelage of the elders from whom he absorbed the history of the traditional culture. 

After the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Rebirth began revitalizing the brass band traditions, he helped found the New Birth Brass Band along with his longtime rhythm section partner, bass drummer Cayetano “Tanio” Hingle. “Fatman” could also be heard playing with numerous other brass bands over the years including the Preservation Hall, Olympia, Jr., Kinfolk and the Tornado.

On Thursday night (February 15) dozens of musicians gathered for the second night in row to play and honor his memory. The second line started at Hunter’s Field along with about 100 followers. The parade began with a dirge before the musicians launched into “I’ll Fly Away.”

The mass of humanity blocked traffic going the wrong way on N. Claiborne Avenue en route to the spot where he was hit at the intersection of Pauger Street. The musicians stopped, circled up and played another dirge, “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” before crossing the neutral ground to the strains of “Didn’t He Ramble.” The second line then headed into the 7^th Ward neighborhood before returning to Hunter’s Field.

“Fatman” played hundreds of second lines and jazz funerals over the course of his life. He always had a smile on his face and loved looking out into the crowd from his position at the back of the band. If he caught your eye while you were enjoying yourself, it always came with a nod and a wink—I see you.

There will be numerous other second lines and tributes in the coming days and months for an integral part of a tight knit community who went home too soon. Funeral arrangements are pending.