The Jive Aces

I was introduced to The Jive Aces by a friend who knows that I am the illegitimate son of Louis Prima.  He encouraged me to watch a YouTube video of the band performing "Bring Me Sunshine."

The Jive Aces is a British "Swing" band that performs many of the songs that my birth father did... and they liberally pay tribute to the man who was a "Swing" legend in the last century.  One of my birth father's signature musical moves was to start a song slowly (He would encourage his band to "play pretty for the people") and then break into a wild up-tempo rhythm with his sidekick, Sam Butera, wailing on the saxophone.

When I first saw the "Bring Me Sunshine" video, I was amazed at how faithfully The Jive Aces seemed to capture the "Louis Prima sound." But the homage doesn't end there.  One shot focuses on an outdoor sign for an ice cream shop that features "Banana Splits."  One of my birth father's hits was "Banana Split for my Baby" ("and a glass of plain water for me.")

I watched the YouTube video roll through the credits with the last shot being of a pair of black and white "Swing" shoes (that had been featured throughout the music video).  The camera panned from the shoes a few feet down the sidewalk to reveal Louis Prima's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (That final homage took me by such surprise that I wound up sobbing.)

 See it for yourself.....

Youtube streaming New Orleans Jazz Festival 2012.

Kudos to YouTube for live streaming the sounds of the New Orleans Jazz Festival the past few weekends.  I knew nothing about the streaming until I went on YouTube to check out a video and stumbled upon it and became mesmerized.

I was thrilled to watch Allen Toussaint and his band!!  I couldn’t turn it off, and in fact, I ordered one of his CDs.  I’d rather have been there in person, particularly since that Festival honored my birth father, Louis Prima, two years ago.  I have the large poster from the Festival painted by Tony Bennett hanging upstairs.

I had thought of attending the Festival in the past, but was worried that the crowds would be overwhelming. (I am a claustrophobe.)  But everyone seemed to have space to move around and the weather looked very comfortable.  So maybe next year!

I should also mention that my sister, Lena, is singing at the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone in the heart of the Big Easy.  I’m looking for a way to get there just to see her perform again.  She has golden pipes and the talent to go along with them.  She obviously inherited the singing talent from our shared father that I wish I had.  Oh well, I’ll have to settle for being an actor rather than a singer.

The festival is over, but more info on the acts and streaming is detailed on the Youtube Global blog.