The “Louis Prima: Rediscovering a Musical Icon” exhibition can be seen in Jersey City through August.
At the first Grammy Awards ceremony, in 1959, Louis Prima was one of the winners: his duet with Keely Smith on “That Old Black Magic” won Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus. That Grammy statuette can now be seen — along with his trumpet, hand-written sheet music, stage outfits and many other artifacts — in “Louis Prima: Rediscovering a Musical Icon,” an exhibition that will be at The Italian Educational & Cultural Center at Casa Colombo in Jersey City, through August.
Also on view are photos, album covers, a warm letter from Frank Sinatra (including an off-color joke), cels from the 1967 animated movie “The Jungle Book” (the irrepressible Prima was well cast as the irrepressible King Louie and sang “I Wan’na Be Like You,” which became one of his best known songs), and much more. Befitting Prima’s buoyant stage persona, it’s an exhibition full of bright colors and bold images.
Louis Prima with King Louie, in an image that can be seen in “Louis Prima: Rediscovering a Musical Icon.”
You can also hear his music there, and watch a short film about him. Placards offer information on subjects such as “Prima’s Early Years,” “Prima’s Italian American Identity,” ” ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’: Prima Takes New York,” ” ‘Let’s Get Together and Swing’: Prima’s Creative Partners” and ” ‘I’m the King of the Swingers, the Jungle VIP’: Prima and Disney.”
The exhibition opened last month with a reception that attracted a full house of people, who looked at the displays and listened to songs associated with Prima — such as “Jump, Jive an’ Wail,” “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody,” “Che la Luna,” “Pennies From Heaven,” “When You’re Smiling” and “A Sunday Kind of Love” — sung live by Vanessa Racci and Michal Ragosa. These two are far too young to have experienced Prima in his prime (he died in 1978, at the age of 67) but still consider him to be an important influence.
“Louis was very special because not only did he popularize jump blues in the 1950s, but he also made it cool to be Italian at a time when people were trying to hide their ethnic identity,” said Racci.
“Growing up, my parents, on Sundays, of course … my mom was making sauce,” said Ragosa. “She would have Frank Sinatra on, Louis Prima, Dean Martin. And there was always something different about Louis Prima. You don’t really have to watch him to hear the amount of energy that this guy had … being an aspiring entertainer, it’s just very motivating … not only was he a musician, but he was also an entertainer.”
“Louis Prima: Rediscovering a Musical Icon” relies heavily on items owned and preserved by the Jersey-based Gia Maione Prima Foundation. Gia Maione Prima, a New Jersey native who died in 2013, started singing with Prima in 1962, and was his wife from 1963 until his death. She launched the foundation with Anthony Sylvester, her lawyer and advisor, about two years before she died. The foundation is a founding supporter of NJArts.net and generously donates to many other arts causes in New Jersey, New Orleans (Louis Prima’s hometown) and other locations.
Two attendees of the “Louis Prima: Rediscovering a Musical Icon” opening reception check out some of it.
In 2019, The Gia Maione Prima Foundation sponsored a different exhibition, “The Wildest: Louis Prima Comes Home,” at The New Orleans Jazz Museum. “Louis Prima: Rediscovering a Musical Icon” ran first at The Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, in 2024.
The Jersey City exhibition is produced as a collaboration between The Gia Maione Prima Foundation and The IAMLA.
At the reception, IAMLA executive director and co-founder Marianna Gatto acknowledged Sylvester as “the individual who made this all possible” and said: “We approached The Gia Maione Prima Foundation in 2021 with a request to borrow an artifact. From that, came this exhibition. We’re super proud to share it with the community on the East Coast.”
“Louis Prima: Rediscovering a Musical Icon” can be seen at The Italian Educational & Cultural Center at Casa Colombo in Jersey City, through August. Visit casacolombo.org.
Here are clips from the opening reception of songs performed by Vanessa Racci and Michal Ragosa.
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