44 Vaccaro ⦁ Louis Prima & Tarantella swing style with a jazz combo instrumentation. However, the piano part for this piece employs the signature triplet feel, which is not a common jazz piano accompaniment pattern. This has likely been misinterpreted by many as being a reinforcement of the swing feel, however this piano part is more rigid as opposed to the laid-back swing rhythm. This, along with the fact that the bass plays quarter notes while the chords are syncopated, further reinforces the tarantella reference. Finally, Prima concludes the song by yelling Sicilian phrases such as “Che ne dici? Stasira vuo’ ‘o vineddu?” (“What do you say? Do you want some wine tonight?”), which indicates that the usage of the tarantella-inspired rhythm was intentional. Example 5: Louis Prima, “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody,” mm. 1–4 (transcription by the author). Note the piano rhythms emulating the off-beat triplet feel of the tarantella.
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