Italian-A-Day Tenor saxophone player Sam Butera kept in good - TopicsExpress



          

Italian-A-Day Tenor saxophone player Sam Butera kept in good company. Born in 1927, in New Orleans to an Italian family, Butera was already making a name for himself by 18, playing in bib band drummer Ray McKinley’s orchestra and being dubbed America’s top upcoming jazzmen. By his early twenties, Butera had spots in the orchestras of Joe Reichman, Paul Gayten and Tommy Dorsey, but Butera’s most famous partnership wouldn’t come until 1954. In the mid 1950s, as touring became less common for jazz musicians, Butera settled in a four-year stint at the 500 Club in New Orleans, which was owned by the brother of Louis Prima. For the next twenty years, Butera was the bandleader of Prima’s The Witnesses, during which time he also performed with musician Keely Smith. Butera’s humor and boisterous playing style was legendary, as was his ability in later years to crossover into various genres of music. He performed with Prima and Smith on such classics as “I Wan’na Be Like You,” “ That Old Black Magic,” and “Come on-a My House.” Watch below to see Butera playing with Smith, Prima and The Witnesses on Night Train. #ItalianADay #NIAF #ItalianAmerican #Italian
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 15:58:18 +0000

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