Louie Prima

Tony Scodwell · Heavyweight Member Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 1961

The years I was fortunate to have played on Harry James' band we often worked opposite Louie Prima at Harrah's Reno and Tahoe. Louie's band with Keely Smith and Sam Butera was one of the best going and in addition to the humor, Louie was some kind of trumpet player. Harry often told me that Louie was underrated as a serious musician and when Harry James says a guy was a serious musician you've got to believe him. I was invited to join Harry and Louie for a round of golf in Tahoe and Louie was quite the serious golfer as well. He built a golf course in Las Vegas called Fairway To The Stars which I played many times with my Dad. It was an eighteen hole course on a piece of nine hole land. What a shooting gallery!

Outside of the many Louie Prima and the Witnesses recordings, the big band recordings that Louie made in the forties will surprise you with the quality of playing and Louies solos. He had chops, technique and wonderful musicality. Some of his Italian humor comes through as well with the big band and forecasts things to come later with his small group.

Tony Scodwell
www.scodwellusa.com

delano · Posted: Sun May 31, 2020 10:10 am Post subject:

Great player

spitvalve · Posted: Sun May 31, 2020 10:35 am Post subject:

My parents had a Louis Prima album when I was growing up. My siblings and I used to play it over and over and laugh at the nonsense lyrics and funny songs. I was probably about five the first time I heard him. I was ten when "The Jungle Book" came out and I loved his performance in that. It wasn't until I was older and totally obsessed with the trumpet that I learned he was also a trumpet player, and a very fine one at that.
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kehaulani · Posted: Sun May 31, 2020 11:09 am Post subject:

When I was an eighth and ninth grader, primarily, I lived Louis Prima. Him and Peter Gunn. You couldn't get me away from those records. Poor parents, LOL. Great humor and great playing/singing/show. I was surprised years later to be able to hear a direct lineage to Louis Armstrong. Made me hear and appreciate him better.

He wrote some good tunes, too, Sing, Sing, Sing probably being the better known. I have a recording of his big band playing it; different from both his Vegas band and Benny Goodman's version. Good playing and scat singing.

I never saw him live, but when I played Vegas, I saw Sam Butera and the Witnesses, which was basically a Louis Prima show. A little old hat and warmed over at that point, but they still played their butt off.
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Ed Kennedy · Heavyweight Member Joined: 15 Jan 2005 Posts: 3187

My Army buddy, Tony Horowitz, played with The Enforcers in the '70's. WE ran into each other on Bourbon Street in '75, I was in town with a circus. Later that year I heard them in Vegas where the circus was set up. It was a great band and Prima a great entertainer.

kehaulani · Posted: Sun May 31, 2020 8:29 pm Post subject:

I understand that Louis Prima's show really didn't have it's characteristic pizazz until Sam Butera joined him and put some fire into the presentation. I think that characteristic bass/piano riff behind a number of his songs came from Sam, also.
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"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

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