Olympia Brass Band | |
|---|---|
 Olympia Brass Band in Hollabrunn (1986), in the center Harold Dejan | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New Orleans |
| Past members | Harold Dejan |
The Olympia Brass Band is an American jazz brass band from New Orleans.
Olympia Brass Band | |
|---|---|
| Olympia Brass Band in Hollabrunn (1986), in the center Harold Dejan | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New Orleans |
| Past members | Harold Dejan |
The Olympia Brass Band is an American jazz brass band from New Orleans.
The first "Olympia Brass Band" was active from the late 19th century to around World War I. The most famous member was Freddie Keppard.
In 1958, saxophonist Harold Dejan, [1] leader of the 2nd unit of the Eureka Brass Band, split off to form the current Olympia, reviving the historic name.
The band had a notable part in the 1973 James Bond movie Live and Let Die in which they play a band leading a funeral march and one of Bond's associates is assassinated during the march. Trumpeter Alvin Alcorn plays the knife-wielding "baby-faced killer".
In addition to playing for parades and parties, the band had a weekly gig at Preservation Hall on Sunday nights for many years. The band also toured Europe on numerous occasions and also toured Africa for the U. S. State Department. The band did a BBC Radio broadcast for Queen Elizabeth's 25th wedding anniversary in 1972 while they were in London, and also played for Pope John Paul II on his visit to New Orleans.
The Olympia Brass Band was a training ground for a whole new generation of jazz musicians including clarinetist Joseph Torregano, saxophonist Byron "Flea" Bernard, drummers Tanio Hingle and Kerry Hunter, and trumpeters Kenneth Terry and "Kid" Mervin Campbell.
Notable members of the band over the years were: Harold "Duke" Dejan, leader and alto saxophone; Emanuel "Pappy" Paul & Ernest Watson tenor saxophone; clarinetists Willie Humphrey, Joseph Torregano and David Grillier; trumpeters Milton Batiste (assistant leader), Edmond Foucher, George "Kid Sheik" Colar, Reginald Koeller, Kenneth Terry, and Mervin Campbell; trombonists Paul Crawford, Frank Naundorf, Wendell Eugene, Eddie King, Gerald Joseph, and Lester Caliste; sousaphonists Allan Jaffe, William "Coby" Brown, Anthony Lacen aka "Tuba Fats," Edgar Smith, and Jeffrey Hills; snare drummers Andrew Jefferson, Leroy "Boogie" Breaux, Kerry "Fatman" Hunter; bass drummers Henry "Booker T." Glass, Nowell "Papa" Glass, and Cayetano "Tanio" Hingle. Grand marshals for the band were Matthew "Fats" Houston (1911–81), Anderson Minor, Anderson Stewart, and Richard "King" Matthews, whose death in 2010 is considered to have ended the band's history. [2]
Although the band left numerous recordings, none is more prevalent than their recording of "The Westlawn Funeral Dirge" which featured Emanuel Paul on the tenor saxophone.
The Olympia Brass Band is profiled in the book, The Great Olympia Band by the late English writer Mick Burns, and Keeping the Beat on the Street: The New Orleans Brass Band Renaissance also by Mick Burns.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a period of time due to Hurricane Katrina, but the band continued to tour.
The Treme Brass Band is a marching brass band from New Orleans, Louisiana led by snare drummer Benny Jones Sr. The band, which plays traditional New Orleans-style brass band music, features a shifting lineup that has included trumpeters Kermit Ruffins and James Andrews, tenor saxophonists Elliot Callier, Frederick Sheppard, and John Gilbert, trombonist Corey Henry, and sousaphonist Kirk Joseph. Before his death in 2012, Lionel Batiste appeared consistently on the bass drum. They have released two albums, Gimme My Money Back on Arhoolie Records and I Got a Big, Fat Woman on the Sound of New Orleans Records label. The band takes its name from New Orleans' Tremé neighborhood; due to some historical confusion, the "Treme" in the name is sometimes spelled "Tremè" or "Tremé". In 2010 the Treme Brass Band performed with Uncle Lionel Batiste to play Voodoo Experience in New Orleans.
Percy Gaston Humphrey was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader in New Orleans, Louisiana.
New Orleans Nightcrawlers are an American regional roots group, based in the New Orleans area. They were founded in 1994 by pianist Tom McDermott, sousaphonist Matt Perrine and trumpeter Kevin Clark. In addition, original members of the band included trumpeter Barney Floyd, Frank Oxley, Mark Morris, and Peter Kaplan on percussion, Craig Klein and Rick Trolsen on trombones, and saxophonists Eric Traub, Ken "Snakebite" Jacobs and Jason Mingledorff and trumpeter Satoru Ohashi. More recent members of the band have included saxophonist Brent Rose and drummer Tanio Hingle and Kerry “fatman” Hunter. Originally modeled on the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Crawlers brought something new to the New Orleans brass band scene with their sophisticated arrangements. Henry Butler, Evan Christopher, and Troy and Bruce Hornsby have performed/recorded with the group. They have toured Japan, Brazil, several countries in Europe and much of America, and have released five albums. Their 2020 album, Atmosphere, won the Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album.
Harold Andrew "Duke" Dejan was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in New Orleans. Dejan is best remembered as leader of the Olympia Brass Band during the 1960s and 1970s, when it was considered the top band in the city.
Jonathan Marks was a British jazz pianist.
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Louis Albert Cottrell Jr. was a Louisiana Creole jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He was the son of the influential drummer Louis Cottrell, Sr., and grandfather of New Orleans jazz drummer Louis Cottrell III. As leader of the Heritage Hall Jazz Band, he performed at Carnegie Hall in 1974.
The Eureka Brass Band was a brass band from New Orleans, active from 1920 to 1975, who recorded prolifically for Atlantic Records, Pax, Alamac, Folkways, Jazzology, and Sounds of New Orleans.
Emanuel Paul was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
The Young Tuxedo Brass Band is a brass band from New Orleans that was active after World War II.
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Placide Adams Jr. was an American jazz double bassist, who worked prolifically with a wide circle of New Orleans jazz stars over his 50-year career.
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Last Option is the fourth album by the jazz group 8 Bold Souls. It was recorded in August 1999 in Chicago, and was released in 2000 by Thrill Jockey. The album features performances by saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Edward Wilkerson, saxophonist Mwata Bowden, trumpeter Robert Griffin, Jr., trombonist Isaiah Jackson, tubist Gerald Powell, cellist Naomi Millender, bassist Harrison Bankhead, and drummer Dushun Mosley.
Clarence Joseph Ford, Sr. was an American saxophonist and clarinetist, who played and recorded with many of New Orleans' leading R&B and jazz artists in a career spanning more than 40 years.
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