Dejan's Olympia Brass Band

Biography

Harold 'Duke' Dejan (1909-2002), the driving force behind Dejan's Olympia Brass Band, was born into a Creole family in New Orleans and began his musical journey with clarinet lessons as a child before switching to alto saxophone, becoming a professional musician in his teens. He joined the Olympia Serenaders in the 1920s under drummer Arnold du Pass and played in Storyville, Mahogany Hall, and on Mississippi riverboats, while working a day job at the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company for 23 years and serving in Navy bands during World War II. In 1951, Dejan formed his own brass band, which evolved into Dejan's Original Olympia Brass Band by 1958-1959 when he split from the Eureka Brass Band's second unit to revive the historic Olympia name, assembling a 12-piece ensemble of top New Orleans players known for traditional street parades, especially raucous second-line funeral processions blending dirges and upbeat jazz.[1][2][3][4]

Under Dejan's leadership through the 1960s and 1970s, the band became New Orleans' premier brass ensemble, securing a regular Sunday night gig at Preservation Hall, recording nine albums including the 1968 New Orleans Street Parade in Berlin and a 1971 Audiophile session, and embarking on 30 European tours plus one to Africa for the U.S. State Department. Their style fused early 19th-century brass band traditions—rooted in slave funeral customs—with emergent jazz elements, featuring lively marches, hymns like 'Flee As A Bird,' and originals, performed in red blazers, black pants, and white hats. The band appeared in the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die leading a funeral march, TV commercials, a BBC broadcast for Queen Elizabeth's 25th anniversary, and for Pope John Paul II in New Orleans.[1][2][3][6]

Dejan suffered a stroke in 1991 but continued leading and occasionally singing until his death in 2002 at age 93; the band persisted into the 1990s as a training ground for new jazz talent, cementing its legacy as one of the last authentic old-time street bands preserving New Orleans' brass tradition amid global tours and media exposure.[1][3]

Fun Facts

• The band was detained at Tel Aviv airport in 197? by Israeli officials who mistook them for Black Hebrews due to their traditional red blazer uniforms; leader Dejan turned it into free publicity, quipping 'everything’s lovely!'[3]
• In Live and Let Die (1973), trumpeter Alvin Alcorn portrayed the knife-wielding 'baby faced killer' during their funeral march scene.[3]
• They performed a BBC radio broadcast for Queen Elizabeth’s 25th wedding anniversary in London (1972) and played for Pope John Paul II during his New Orleans visit.[3][6]
• Dejan explained a full funeral procession on their 1971 Audiophile recording, including the dirge medley 'Flee As A Bird - Nearer My God To Thee - Pleyel’s Hymn.'[6]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Arnold du Pass - Leader of Olympia Serenaders when Dejan joined in the 1920s (Olympia Serenaders performances) [1920s]

Key Collaborators

• Milton Batiste - Trumpet, assistant leader (New Orleans Street Parade (1968)) [1960s-1970s]
• Willie Humphrey - Clarinetist, longtime member (Preservation Hall gigs, various recordings) [1960s-1980s]
• Emanuel 'Pappy' Paul - Tenor saxophonist ('The Westlawn Funeral Dirge') [1960s-1970s]
• Anthony Lacen 'Tuba Fats' - Sousaphonist (Audiophile Records session (1971)) [1960s-1980s]

Artists Influenced

• Joseph Torregano - Clarinetist trained in the band (Olympia performances) [1970s-1990s]
• Byron 'Flea' Bernard - Saxophonist trained in the band (Olympia performances) [1970s-1990s]
• Tanio Hingle - Drummer trained in the band (Olympia performances) [1970s-1990s]
• Kenneth Terry - Trumpeter trained in the band (Olympia performances) [1970s-1990s]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia