Results for "Louis Prima"

Louis Prima

Born: December 7, 1910

Best remembered for his risque Vegas act of the 1950s, Louis Prima was the ultimate showman. Loud, boisterous, and completely out front, his mix of rhythm and blues, big band music, Italian novelty tunes, and Dixieland made him one of the hottest performers of his era.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Prima studied violin as a child. He took up the trumpet at age fourteen after his brother, who was also a musician, went on tour and left behind an old instrument. Prima taught himself how to play and in the late 1920s began to perform professionally, influenced by Louis Armstrong and the rich jazz heritage of his hometown.

Mal Waldron, Aymée Nuviola, Immanuel Wilkins, Grover Washington, Jr.

by David Brown
November 1, 2023

This week, a soulful set with Washington, McCann and Spalding. Then some Monk by Monk and Lacy/Waldron followed by a short set of Immanuel Wilkins old and new. We will also check out recent releases by Mat Maneri Quartet and Miho Hazama, and more. Old, new, in, out... wherever the music takes us. Each week, we ...

Steven Watts (Dotsero) and Mike Mauer, Plus Vice Jazz

by Steven Roby
August 11, 2023

Musician interviews on this episode include Steven Watts (Dotsero) and Mike Mauer (Mike Maurer Band.) Plus, we'll explore the vice jazz genre. On Backstage Jazz, you'll hear a blend of contemporary and classic jazz and a touch of soul, funk, and world music, all selected by music journalist and host Steven Roby.Playlist Billy Stewart ...

Vanessa Racci

Growing up with her Southern Italian grandfather in New York, Vanessa learned Italian American classics and jazz at an early age, hearing Dean Martin, Connie Francis, Frank Sinatra and the like played throughout the house. She developed as a singer in musical theater (starring in professional theater at age 12), discovered her love for jazz in her 20’s and started touring with a trio.

After her grandfather passed, Vanessa was inspired to reinvent the Italian classics that he taught her with modern jazz arrangements to keep the music alive for future generations. She teamed up with Gianni Valenti of Birdland Jazz Club NYC, producer, David Finck, and Manhattan Transfer arranger, Yaron Gershovsky, to realize her vision. The result was a sold-out album release show at Birdland in 2017 and a unique album entitled, Italiana Fresca, that reached #65 on the jazz charts. Since then, she has performed at over 70 festivals, events and jazz clubs across the country and has been played on over 20 Italian radio stations across the US and Italy.

Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington & Lena Horn

by Joe Dimino
July 9, 2023

In honor of the 2022 book Dangerous Rhythms by New York Times best selling author T.J English, we constructed an hour of jazz celebrating the story of his intersection of the mob and the music. It starts in Chicago with the great King Oliver and ends in New York City with Jimmy Durante. In between, we ...

Louis Prima: King of the Swingers

March 3, 2022

Born in New Orleans, trumpeter, singer and entertainer Louis Prima grew up in the city's Italian-American community. He was influenced not only by New Orleans's Black jazz and folk culture but also the tradition of commedia dell'arte that dates back to 16th-century Italy. Comedy's earliest form of improv, this form of street theater poked fun at ...

New Releases, Birthday Shoutouts As Women's History Month Continues

by Mary Foster Conklin
March 22, 2021

Now in full swing, Women's History Month continues—this broadcast features new releases from Jane Monheit, Rebecca Dumaine, Yelena Eckemoff, Roni Ben-Hur and Kenney Polson with birthday shoutouts to Keely Smith, Shirley Scott, Nicki Parrott, Judy Niemack, Anat Fort, Miki Yamanaka, Bobby McFerrin and Mark Murphy, among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you ...

Professor Aucoin & the Jazz Scientists: Mystified

by Jack Bowers
February 21, 2021

There is a heap of soul, blues, rock, funk and heart on Professor Tim Aucoin's album, Mystified. On the other hand, the jazz content is in rather short supply. The Jazz Scientists are good at what they do, but what they do is more akin to a nightclub act than a jazz performance, at times reminiscent ...

Vinnie Corbo

Born: August

I am a veteran producer, composer, artist and performer with over 100 albums to my credit and decades of performing. My music can be heard in everything from documentaries to the Channel 5 News. My photography and artwork have appeared on magazine covers, album covers, commercial advertising, countless catalogs, all over the internet and even in Times Square. While I enjoy entertaining and composing my own music, I also genuinely enjoy working on other artists projects. I derive a great deal of satisfaction from helping an artist have their vision come to fruition.

The Very Singular Mr. Ran Blake

by Duncan Heining
January 23, 2020

There have been few American composers and musicians, with the ability to encapsulate their country's music in all its racial and ethnic complexity. We might perhaps point to Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives and perhaps, in their own distaff ways, Harry Partch and Steve Reich. In jazz, their number is fewer still--Duke Ellington and George ...