Sam Butera (Louis Prima) Interview + Live at The Shim Sham Club, New Orleans, April 1999

New Orleans Saxophone legend Sam Butera (Louis Prima) Interview + Live at the Shim Sham Club. Grand Opening Night, New Orleans April 1999. Interview by Ronnie Magri, Peter Lupini & Ralph Madison. Filmed by Ralph Madison.
© 2015 Ronnie Magri. All Rights Reserved.
www.ronniemagri.com

[@TheJello359]

Greatest entertainer and sax player in the world

[@michaelchapman4955]

I caught Sam at the Union Plaza downtown in its early yrs & Yes!..... what a musician & entertainer !!!!

[@picklesthewise]

I love that he never wanted to stop doing what he loved until the day he died. When you've got music in you like that, you can't be doing anything else but getting it out.

[@carlpanarella470]

I had the great pleasure of knowing Sam . we had him at the Rex Manor in Brooklyn N.Y. and At The College Of Staten Island . THOSE WERE THE DAYS !!!!!

[@gloriagrace59]

@Carl Panarella, was it the original Campus at the College of Staten Island?

[@lenormand4967]

HE WAS AWESOME. AND THE BANDS, LOUIS AND KEELY. SO WONDERFUL!

[@hunkydorian]

You hear one sax player, and that's almost IT, and you hear another sax player and not even close, and the you hear Sam Butera and THAT'S IT.

[@quackslikeaduck]

Great when he was talking about swing. Jazz players think of it in a triplet-y feel, slightly behind the beat. People who can't swing think of it as a dotted eighth note followed by a sixteenth note -- a real straight up and down thing. And that's not swing. Sam's great -- thanks for posting.

[@paulnicolosi4792]

I worked opposite of Sam, back in 78, up at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. Nice guy..

[@michaelchapman4955]

Sammy was the best.... that's why Sam was working with Louis & Keeley at the Desert Inn & Sahara, etc.. for decades

[@shirleyjenkin8156]

Sam was the best saxophone player. He could make it talk. He was a great singer. They had so much fun swinging. Loved to be entertained by Louie, Keely, Sam, and the Witnesses in the 50s in Desert Inn in Vegas

[@bloodydior6871]

Man crazy to think I was in the whom in 1999 and here I am 22 and recently discovered sam, now I’m a huge fan and can’t get enough of his sax and singing

[@OthO67]

I dig this guys attitude. He had guts.

[@BackToTheBlues]

+Jawknee Rustle You can say that again! Great tone on the sax, and he knew how to put a show across, but working with Louis Prima for so many years held him in good stead for that.

[@gjc82071]

My step dad played lead sax in Sammy's band, (known as "The Wildest" at the time) back in the early 1980s. I was about 10-12yo back then. My Summer & Easter vacations were spent on the road, touring w/the band. I met Sam many times, (obviously) & I watched their show more times then I can remember. Sammy was a hell of a musician, & am all around great guy. A real class act. (he was good to our family & paid my father EXTREMELY well) It was an absolutely incredible & unforgettable experience, of which I have very fond & cherished memories.

[@lenormand4967]

gjc82071 ~ A BLESSED MEMORY IS A TREASURE.

[@rogeralsop3479]

He's right about swing - and he and Prima certainly could.

[@1mespud]

I got it when he mentioned you can't teach swing. He meant you can't teach it if they can't grasp the "laws and physics" of swing and that the newer artists are putting way too much backbeat into what they "think" is swing which gives the music too much emphasis and lock which produces less human feel and sway. In other words, if it doesn't sway, then it's not swing. Mr. Butera didn't invent swing, but he's from the era for being in the thick of it which makes him an architect..

[@philgranito4043]

My oh my .....I'm smilin' Sam....what a band !

[@kaycox5555]

WONDERFUL....

[@mimmoleonardi8643]

Louis prima, Nick La rocca, Sam Butera ecc. Sicilian swing in the USA 😄😄💪🌋

[@josephval4083]

Sam was thee best. Period

[@chenzenzo]

Ain't nobody blew a saxophone harder than Butera! A marvelous Sicilian with a voice you couldn't touch live. I actually own the rights to one of his performances and use the proceeds (which ain't much) to donate to the arts for kids. Sam was so much darker on the road back in the day. He'll always grab your heart with his candid attitude and especially his warmth. And Madonna mia! That cat can blow! Saluti paesan!

[@alfredoromero5905]

he sayit lik it is .good shcool ..good man...

[@hellbent6344]

@1:06 He said Brian Switzer, but 100% sure he ment Brian setzer .

[@michaelcoluccio590]

Sam looked great as he aged,

[@normancastelli3546]

If you havn't lived it, it won't come out of your horn. Sam don't don't knock the kids just show us how to do it. Feel it.

[@cbalducc]

He was from New Orleans but he sounds New York.

[@jtoo6060]

Sam is Sicilian-American and grew up around other Sicilians and Italians in New Orleans.

[@cbalducc]

You think Italian immigrants helped create the New Orleans accent?

[@iVenge]

Have you ever been to New Orleans?

[@cbalducc]

@@iVenge Yes.

[@peterkaufmann4855]

I live in New Orleans but am from New Jersey and my family is from NYC. The New Orleans accent is very similar.

[@TheJazzGuyy]

Butera always sounded to me like his roots were in New Orleans R&B, not jazz. I think he had a lot of the same roots as Mac Rebennack (Dr. John).

[@garethbest2355]

I love that he calls out Brian Switzer (Setzer)! That band is so stiff I don't understand why people dig 'em. The rockabilly stuff was ok but when he went into swing and jump it was a total fail.

[@iVenge]

“Brian Switzer”... hilarious. There’s no way that “Switzer” can respond to this. When Sam Butera hits you, you’re hit.

[@loriforges6304]

I found a Brian CD and played it a d loved it! I play it and dance and do housework. Didn't compare him to anyone, I enjoyed it.

[@kuehnel16]

I'm the king of the swingers man the jungle VIP . I got to top and had to stop and that's what's a bothering me.

[@ocelotxp]

“You can’t teach that” ...and then proceeds to demonstrate the difference Sounds to me like it’s very teachable

[@anonymusum]

You´re absolutely right. He had no clue about young real good musicians, about Berklee etc. - I guess he was self taught and probably not the brightest guy in town, wasn´t he?

[@granthaua65]

Neither was Miles Davis,, what's your point

[@ReginaldForman]

Talking about it and teaching it are 2 completely different animals.

[@lindachiwaki7435]

Yo what’s your point ? He was great leave it at that. He sounds intelligent from his interviews. He was one of the greatest !!!

[@bigdante42]

He left his hearing aid at home

[@OthO67]

I dig this guys attitude. He had guts.