From:   "Dik de Heer"  
Date:  Sat Aug 17, 2002  1:58 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Sam Butera
 
SAM BUTERA

Born 17 August 1927, New Orleans, Louisiana

Sax player / bandleader.
Sam Butera spent much of his career leading Louis Prima's band, but his
career continued long after Prima's death, coming to include sounds and
styles far beyond Prima's brand of New Orleans jazz. A rock, R&B, and
jazz legend, Butera is a towering crossover figure at the saxophone and
as a band leader.
He was born in New Orleans to Italian-American parents. His father Joseph
owned a butcher shop in a Black section of the city, and played the guitar
and the concertina in his spare time. At a wedding he was taken to at age
seven, Sam Butera first saw and heard a saxophone, and, with his father's
blessings, asked to take lessons. He studied the clarinet at school but
eventually returned to the sax, and at age 18 was featured in Look magazine
(Life's major competitor) as one of the top young jazzmen in the country. He
got a gig with Ray MicKinley right out of high school, and also played with
the bands of Tommy Dorsey and Joe Reichman. His major influences in those
years included Charlie Ventura, Lester Young, Gene Ammons, Charlie Parker,
and Big Jay McNeely - he seemed to gravitate naturally to swing and bebop.
Ultimately, however, the biggest influence on his playing was Lee Allen, then
a member of Paul Gayten's band, with which he frequently played.

Butera formed his own group - inspired by Gayten's band - after returning to
New Orleans, and they quickly began a four-year engagement at the 500 Club,
which was owned by Louis Prima's brother. His sound reflected a vast range
of influences, including modern jazz and R&B, and in 1951 Butera cut some
raunchy R&B instrumental sides for RCA and Groove in 1953-54.
He played some R&B shows, including a celebrated tour as part of Alan
Freed's first East Coast rock & roll showcase, and Butera's loud, wild sax
sound won him an enthusiastic following. In late 1954 he moved from New
Orleans to Las Vegas, hooking up with Louis Prima and would spend the
next 20 years leading his band, the Witnesses. Almost overnight, Butera's
band and Prima were the hottest act in Vegas.
Most of Butera's own record releases came out on Capitol (1958-59, 1962),
Dot (1960-1961) and Prima (1963-1964). Some of these were vocals, like the
excellent "Bim Bam" from 1958. Many instrumentals by Sam and the Witnesses
are hidden on Louis Prima and Keely Smith albums.
Butera achieved financial security over the next 20 years working for Prima,
and only then, in the mid-'70s, began re-emerging as a performer in his own
right. He is still very active today.

Recommended listening:
Hot New Orleans Nights (Bear Family 15449) RCA and Groove recordings, 1953-54.
Sheer energy (Jasmine JASCD 313) Live recordings.
On the 8 CD-set "The Capitol Recordings : Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Sam Butera"
(Bear Family 15776), CD 7 and CD 8 are by Sam. A 1-CD alternative for the
Capitol
recordings is "Wild, Cool & Swingin'" (Capitol 5 20335 2. "File Under Lounge"
says
the back cover.)
Official website: http://www.sambutera.com/