CD1
1. The Lady In Red
2. In A Little Gypsy Tea Room
3. Chasing Shadows
4. Oh Marie
5. Bell Bottom Trousers
6. St Louis Blues
7. That Was A Big Fat Lie
8. Civilization (Bongo Bongo Bongo)
9. The Bee Song (He-Bee And She-Bee)
10. The Pump Song
11. Yes, We Have No Bananas
12. All Right Louie, Drop The Gun
13. Charleston
14. Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue
15. I Beeped When I Should Have Bopped
16. Here Pretty Kitty
17. Oh Babe!
18. Eh Cumpari
CD2
1. Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody (Medley)
2. Buona Sera
3. Jump, Jive And Wail
4. Night Train
5. Five Months, Two Weeks, Two Days
6. Body And Soul
7. Angelina/Zooma Zooma (Medley)
8. When You're Smiling/The Sheik Of Araby
(Medley)
9. Autumn Leaves
10. I've Got The World On A String
11. Blow, Red Blow
12. The Pump Song (Uptempo Version)
13. There'll Be No Next Time
14. Pennies From Heaven
15. The Birth Of The Blues
16. Closer To The Bone
17. Sentimental Journey
18. When The Saints Go Marching In
Louis Prima is one of those
artists who straddled the worlds of jazz and
popular music. He actually had hit records
like Buona Sera, which was a British
hit in 1958. But he was a also a jazzman who
played with Red Nichols before forming his
own groups, which at various times included
Pee Wee Russell, Claude Thornhill and Eddie
Miller. In some ways he was very like Louis
Armstrong: a popular extrovert trumpeter and
singer (with a gritty voice) who was also
a born entertainer (like Armstrong, born in
New Orleans). But he wasn't just an Armstrong
imitator: his style owed much to the fact
that he was the son of Italian immigrants
to the USA, so he had an Italianate verve
and also performed many Italian-style songs
like several on this double CD.
The album usefully reminds
us not only of Prima's talents as an entertainer
but also his abilities as a jazz trumpeter
whose bands often contained skilled jazzmen.
There are no personnel details or recording
dates on the album sleeve, but saxophonist
Sam Butera was an integral member of Louis
Prima's group, and the unnamed trombonist
on Body and Soul is obviously a talented
jazzman. He was also a composer of note, one
of his best-known works being Sing, Sing,
Sing which the Benny Goodman band made
so famous.
Prima's teaming with singer
Keely Smith (for a while his wife) added to
his appeal, since her cool demeanour contrasted
suggestively with his excitable personality.
Louis was not afraid to follow popular trends
like rock 'n' roll, as you can hear in Just
a Gigolo with its howling saxophone. He
became known to a new generation when he sang
I Wanna Be Like You in the 1967 Walt
Disney film The Jungle Book.
Despite its inadequate documentation,
this reasonably-priced double album gives
a good taste of Prima's work - ranging from
comedy songs like Yes, We Have No Bananas
(with Dixieland interlude) to jazzier items
like St Louis Blues and Jump, Jive
and Wail (the latter used in the 1990s
for an advertising campaign by the clothes
store Gap). Louis threw himself into every
number, paving the way for such latter-day
admiring imitators as Ray Gelato. His popularity
as a Las Vegas entertainer should not obscure
his brilliance as a jazz musician and leader
of some fine jazz ensembles.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Delta
33324 
