Lena Prima, the daughter of renowned trumpeter and recording star Louis Prima and his fifth wife, Gia Malone, has carved out her own career as a singer and recording artist.

Born in 1963, Prima was raised in Las Vegas and spent time on the road with her parents and in her father’s native New Orleans. While on the road, she often joined her parents on stage, singing and playing drums. Her father died when she was 14. Despite her mother’s objections, she was soon singing in rock bands, recording an album with her own group, Rough Angel, and performing with lounge, and cover bands.

Prima visited her father’s hometown in 2005 to take part in a benefit concert after Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures. She returned to perform a tribute to her father at the 2010 Jazz and Heritage Festival, and moved to the city in 2011 to take up what has become a long-running residency at the Hotel Monteleone’s Carousel Bar.

She has released six albums, including the 2019 “Prima la Famiglia” on New Orleans’ Basin Street Records, which debuted at #10 on Billboard’s Jazz Album chart. In addition to performing at the Carousel Bar, she can be heard at festivals around the world.