Demas Dean

Demas Dean was a seasoned trumpeter who studied at Howard University and was an important part of the ensembles of some of the most musically ambitious jazz bandleaders of the '20s including Elmer Snowden and Leon Abbey. The latter bandleader took Dean to South America in 1927 for what was one the genre's great exploratory adventures of that era. Later, Dean was part of the hit show entitled Blackbirds of 1929, recorded with classic blues empress Bessie Smith, and spent a decade as part of the excellent band of Noble Sissle. Dean is also on the list of players who were forced ...