Artist: Louis Prima

Louise Prima was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader.

While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and  jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he formed a seven-piece New Orleans-style jazz band in the late 1920s, fronted a swing combo in the 1930s and a big band group in the 1940s, helped to popularize jump blues in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s, and performed frequently as a Vegas lounge act beginning in the 1950s. 

From the 1940s through the 1960s, his music further encompassed early R&B and rock 'n' roll, boogie-woogie, and Italian folk music, such as the tarantella. Prima made prominent use of Italian music and  language in his songs, blending elements of his  Italian and Sicilian identity with jazz and swing music. At a time when ethnic musicians were discouraged from openly stressing their ethnicity, Prima's conspicuous embrace of his Sicilian ethnicity opened the doors for other Italian-American and ethnic American musicians to display their ethnic roots. 

Prima and his New Orleans Gang featured Frank Pinero playing piano, Jack Ryan bass, Garrett McAdams guitar, and Pee Wee Russell clarinet. The band had their first performance at a club called the Famous Door. Prima's recordings from 1935 were a combination of Dixieland and swing. In May 1935, Prima and Russell recorded "The Lady in Red", a national jukebox hit. They also recorded "Chinatown", "Chasing Shadows" and "Gypsy Tea Room". 

Shop for Our Favorite Products