Last saxophone solo for The Duke
THE world of music is certainly going to be poorer without The Duke.
Iconic saxophonist Dee Sharma Roopanand, founder of the Dukes Combo, died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday.
It all began on May 8, 1942, when Dee was born to father, Donday Sharma Roopanand, a clarinetist, and mother, Prodhun Parmesar, a violinist.
With his father being well versed in Eastern classical melodies and his mother, an exponent of Western music, a wide musical swathe was cut for the young boy.
His parents sent him to Danny Veeran’s Academy of Music in Victoria Street in the Durban CBD.
Sharma started playing the penny whistle from the age of 12.
In those days, music talent scouts used to hang out at popular Durban nightspots.
Sharma and friends entered numerous competitions, hoping to be “discovered”.
At various hotels, he befriended members of the resident bands.
Those seasoned musicians convinced him that he could be just as good as they were by playing the saxophone.
Sharma recognised that that would be the turning point in his life.
So, the young man went off and bought a second-hand sax for R60 and that was the start of something wonderful.
Things gained momentum when Harry Naidoo met Sharma.
Naidoo at the time was part of a band called The Keytoppers.
The two hit it off immediately as they shared similar interests and they started playing music together, even forming a duet called The D and H Duet.
Gradually they were joined by vocalist Midget Vahed, drummer “Moon” Gartiah and then accordionist and guitarist Vassie Naidoo.
Sharma said in an interview: “Thus was born a group that would go very far – a group that came together naturally with no pre-planning, a group that enjoyed being together for the sheer enjoyment of it.”
The year was 1958. They formed band – but with no name.
They wanted one that was short, simple and easy to remember. While walking in the city one day, they came across an advertisement for Iron Duke Paints, and soon the name, The Dukes Combo, was coined.
Their first official resident gig was at the Ocean Terminal, which lasted about three months.
They then signed up as resident band at the Imperial Hotel.
Needing a bassist for the band, when David Royeppen, who played for the Masterkeys Dance Band, approached them, they gladly accepted him.
The versatility of the group caused them to be in demand.
Back then and to this day, they believe in playing to please the crowd and to strive for perfection.
The Imperial Hotel residency lasted three years, followed by stints at Chatsworth’s Pelican Hotel, Isipingo’s Island Hotel, back to Pelican, on to Verulam’s Starlite Hotel, the Green Cat Restaurant for two years, the Himalaya Hotel for four months and the Asoka Hotel for a year and a half.
Top singers willingly became opening acts for Sharma and his band and these included Miriam Makeba, Essop Gani, Thandi Klaasen and many others.
Over the years, members came and went, but there were always two constants: the band manager and finance minder, Neville Naidoo, and The Duke himself, Dee Sharma.
Sharma took on secular work in the navy and at the SAS Jalsena he built a formidable band that entertained the armed forces.
At the same time, he continued to work and lead The Dukes Combo.
Fast forward a few decades, during which time some members left and others joined, the band was ever popular.
Retirement beckoned for Sharma and it came finally in 2012.
If you can call it retirement, because right until the end, the band always invited Sharma to join them on gigs.
The decision was Sharma’s to attend or not. Being the professional that he was, he seldom turned the opportunities down.
In the past decade, things were not easy for Sharma.
He battled with his health, even undergoing a hip replacement, but it did not deter him from doing radio interviews and music shows, carrying a cushion to ease the strain.
In 2014, tragedy hit him hard when he lost his beloved wife, Pam.
He and the band doted on her. As current band manager Anthony Joseph said, Sharma was never the same since her passing on.
His sorrow was visible and palpable if you were in his company recently.
The last gig Sharma did with his band was on July 15, which was a concert for the KZN Blind and Deaf Society.
He battled through it but he was ever the trooper and got through it. He had a solo piece that he played at every event, which was the Louis Armstrong hit What A Wonderful World.
Joseph recalls that at this last event, even though they did not know it would be their final one with them, the music spoke to them in a most poignant way.
“It was the experience of 59 years playing that solo. It is especially touching now that we recall that moment,” he said.
Sharma leaves behind three sons and three grandchildren.
The saxophone is silent, but the memories of The Duke are loud and large as ever.
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