[Dixielandjazz] Louis Prima Jr. interviewed

[Robert Ringwald]

Louis Prima Jr. Carries On the Name and the Music
by Rich Freedman
Vallejo Times Herald (California), October 7, 2011
He has the name. He plays the songs. He lives in Vegas. And, as much as Louis Prima
Jr. carries on the big band legacy of his father, he realizes there was only one
Louis Prima.
"A name for myself is what I do on-stage and what I perform," the 45-year-old musician
said. "I don't try to emulate my father in any way at all. There are similarities.
He was my father and it's in the genes."
Pops Prima died in 1978, but his only son has carried on the tunes, from the Hall
of Fame entry "Sing, Sing, Sing" to "I'll Be Seeing You," "My Dreams Are Getting
Better All the Time," "Josephine, Please" and a trunk-load of other hits from the
1930s through the '60s.
Sure, the name helps, Prima Jr. said. But after one song, it's about talent as much
as tradition.
"My band puts its heart and soul into it and loves this music to death as much as
I do," Prima said. "We can't be accused of leaving anything on stage. We work hard
and have the time of our lives up there."
Yes, he noted, "I have a brilliant man's name behind me, but you have to prove your
worth."
Prima takes his nine-piece group to Napa with a debut at Silo's on Friday, Oct. 14,
at 7 and 10 p.m.
It's one of 14 shows in 10 cities in 21 days with a schedule the old man would have
been proud of. It's about diligent management, said Prima, "and, of course, I do
have a legacy that I'm carrying on, which garners us a bit of attention. I do have
to back it up. A lot of it is reaping the benefits of constant work the past several
years, which leads to more work."
Prima said his life focuses on his two greatest loves -- the music, and two teenage
sons.
"Road work pays off in the fact I don't have to have the daily grind," Prima said.
"So when I'm home, 24 hours a day is dedicated to them. I love the road. I love what
I do. I love entertaining people and making them smile."
Whatever city Prima visits, he often hears stories from those who had seen his father
or knew him.
"The stories are never ending," he said. "They have a common theme: My father touched
everybody in a different way, but he did touch everyone. Maybe they had their first
kiss (to his music) or proposed to their wife."
After suffering a mild heart attack in 1973, the elder Prima died five years later
in New Orleans.
"On his deathbed in the hospital, they played Prima music until he passed," his son
said. "He touched so many people's lives. He was a jolly person who had respect for
every single person he met. He was never too busy to shake a hand or say 'hi.' I
remember that as a kid. That's more important than anything in the world, being kind
to those we meet along the way."
Louis Prima Sr. was inducted posthumously into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in
2008 and, in July last year, got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Too bad, his son said, the accolades didn't come much earlier, believing his father
"absolutely" didn't get his due respect while living.
"It still is not there," said Prima. "My father was a brilliant musician and a brilliant
song writer. 'Sing, Sing, Sing' is the biggest big band song. He was never respected,
especially in the purist jazz community because he was a showman on top of it, like
(Louis) Armstrong. Because they were jovial, they were viewed more as a goof than
musician. Listen to my father play the trumpet. You can't compare it to many people
playing horn."
Prima hopes to get his father either a street, perhaps a park, named in his honor
in Las Vegas where he toiled so many years.
"Look at what he did in his 50-year career," said Prima. "Fans know it, but other
people don't. We're getting there."
There are a handful of dad's tunes that son said are difficult emotionally to perform.
"He did very few ballads," Prima said. "There are two songs I know I can't sing.
I did it once and told myself I wouldn't do it again. One was 'I'm Leaving You,'
which was the last song he ever recorded."
One other tune moves Prima to tears: "I'm Confessing That I Love You," which was
originally recorded in 1936. Prima Jr. plays his dad's trumpet and uses his dad's
mouthpiece.
"That was my mother's favorite song," Prima said.



--Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Fulton Street Jazz Band
530/ 642-9551 Office
916/ 806-9551 Cell
Amateur (Ham) Radio K6YBV

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