The set­ting is New Orleans, circa 1880. A lone trum­pet player blows his horn on the side of a dirt road. But soon a fuller melody over­takes his and as it gets louder, a brass band appears around the cor­ner, play­ing a funeral march as it trails behind a wooden cas­ket. He falls in step with the pro­ces­sion, its line con­sist­ing of four other men, and he plays along.