Louis Prima Jr.
| Louis Prima Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 16, 1965 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, traditional pop, swing, rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Trumpet |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | Warrior/UMD |
| Associated acts | The Witnesses |
| Website | www |
Louis Prima Jr. (born June 16, 1965 in Las Vegas, Nevada) is an American jazz singer and the son of Louis Prima.
Born in 1965, Louis Prima Jr. is the youngest child and only son of musician and entertainer Louis Prima. His mother Gia Maione began performing with his father in 1962. She taught Louis Jr. to play the drums at 5 years old. He grew up on the outskirts of Las Vegas, on his dad's golf course, Fairway to the Stars, and spent two weeks every summer at his grandparents' house in Toms River, New Jersey. His grandfather, Tom Maione, owned the Red Top Bar at Seaside Heights.
When the Prima family moved to New Orleans, he learned piano. His aunt, Sister Mary Ann, taught piano, and he quickly caught on. The family moved into the home that his father built for his mother on Pretty Acres Golf Course in Covington, Louisiana but soon realized the house might need to be razed due to a termite infestation. The family moved back to Las Vegas.
In school, Prima took band class and told his mother he wanted to play trumpet. He continued playing through high school, and cites his band directors Bruce Cullings and William "Mac" McMosley as major influences in his life. The high school bands were some of the top in the country, winning top honors in every competition. They competed in the Heavy Division of the Chaffey Jazz Festival, and they marched in the Fiesta Bowl and Sun Bowl.
After graduating from high school, Prima started college to enter the business world. He landed a good job, with what he believed a future, and dropped out of college after only one semester. Within a year, he found a band that was renamed Problem Child. Problem Child became popular in the local Vegas scene and at several venues in Hollywood. They opened for numerous acts in every genre, from Winger to Savatage.
In 1995, Problem Child disbanded, and Prima shifted his musical focus to his other love, the music and style of his father. Enlisting the talents of his sister Lena, who had long since quit the music business and established herself as a Las Vegas performer, Prima put together a band in his father's mold. With the aid of his father's keyboard player, Bruce Zarka, he assembled a band of some of the top musicians in Vegas. He left the music world and began a career in food and beverage management. He started a family and performed only casually with friends.
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