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.

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 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.