Brass News

2 Olympia band members die

Milton Batiste Jr., leader of Duke Dejan's Olympia Brass Band, died March 29 of complications of diabetes. He was 66.

Nowell Joseph "Papa" Glass, an Olympia Brass drummer, died three days later at age 73.

Batiste, 66, leader of the Olympia band since 1980, was known as a revered trumpeter who exported jazz funeral and second-time traditions around the world, according to an article in the Dallas Morning News.

Friends in Danville feel the loss of the band leader and know there will be changes in the band as it continues to perform at the Brass Band Festival in June.

Vince DiMartino, trumpeter with The Advocate Brass Band, and George Foreman, band leader, visited Batiste earlier this year when the local band represented Kentucky at a tourism convention in New Orleans.

Batiste was not doing well, but he talked about the Brass Band Festival, said DiMartino.

While the local trumpeter is sad about the deaths of the two Olympia band members, he knows the band will be different with other musicians and thinks it will remain a good jazz band.

"As bands change in personnel, they change in character," said DiMartino. "We will see another unique version of the Olympia Band."

DiMartino played with a young trumpet player in the Olympia band while in New Orleans. "He was wonderful, and he learned from Milton.

"The New Orleans jazz bands always maintain the integrity of the past. They never lose site of where they came from," he said.

Harold McKinney, a local attorney with the state auditor's office, said the loss of the two band members will be a great loss to the festival. McKinney, who transported the Olympia band to and from the airport, called the trips enjoyable.

"They (band members) were very kind and open," McKinney said. "They really enjoyed being in Danville. They always asked about Hillary (McKinney's daughter). Of all the people they met all over the world, they always asked about 'that little girl.'

"Danville held a special place in the heart of Batiste," McKinney said.

"Batiste was always the first to volunteer when anyone thought about organizing a jazz funeral," said Damon Batiste, a distant cousin of the Olympia band leader. "He was an icon of jazz funeral and second-lines, a jazz ambassador for the city. It's going to be a tremendous loss."

Batiste joined the Olympia Band in 1959 and took over the leadership in 1980 when Harold Dejan's health declined. Under his leadership, the band continued as one of New Orleans' most popular traditional brass bands. Unlike other jazz bands, the Olympia band stuck to traditional repertoire of standards as "When the Saints Go Marching In," "Bye and Bye," and "Bourbon Street Parade."

As its lead trumpeter, Batiste's distinct, bold tone soared above other musicians. "He was a powerful trumpeter, he had a true sound," said fellow trumpeter Gregg Stafford, leader of the Young Tuxedo Brass Band and the Jazz Hounds.

Batiste also founded the Olympia Junior, who served as a training ground for aspiring young players.

After returning from a European tour in April 2000, Batiste was hospitalized with complications from diabetes and heart problems. He was unable to perform at the Brass Band Festival last year.

He is survived by his wife, Ruby Batiste; a son, Richard Matthews, the grand marshal of the Olympia Brass Band; a daughter, Sheila Batiste of New York; seven sisters; and one brother.

Jazz funerals were held for both the jazz musicians.