GIA PRIMA AND RIKER DANZIG TO PRESENT LOUIS PRIMA SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
AT ASCAP FOUNDATION CEREMONY IN DECEMBER
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Morristown, NJ – Gia Prima, the widow of legendary jazz singer Louis Prima, Guns n’ Roses, the family of Sebastian Cabot, the family of Phil Harris … these celebrity names are all part of a roster of clients for prestigious New Jersey law firm Riker Danzig, a firm better known for more traditional practice areas such as litigation, insurance and commercial law. However, thanks to partner Anthony Sylvester, the highly-regarded firm is developing a strong practice in entertainment law.
An attorney with the firm for some 25 years, Mr. Sylvester has built a diverse State Court Chancery and Law Division Practice and Federal Court commercial litigation practice and is highly regarded for his work representing financial institutions. He has been recognized among top banking lawyers in New Jersey by “Best Lawyers in America” and “Benchmark Litigation.”
But as a jazz fan Mr. Sylvester moves easily between the buttoned-up world of bankers and the high profile world of entertainers. His clients on the red carpet value his advice and turn to him for expertise on a number of issues. One of his clients, Gia Prima, has joined with Mr. Sylvester and Riker Danzig to establish The ASCAP Foundation Louis Prima Award now in its second year. The Award provides a scholarship to a talented musician to attend the prestigious New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts.
The 2012 recipient is saxophonist Miles Berry, a 16-year-old student from Mandeville, Louisiana. A talented musician, Miles was selected to perform with jazz legend Herbie Hancock in celebration of International Jazz Day back in April. He will receive the Louis Prima Award from Louis Prima Jr. at the ASCAP Foundation Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, December 12th, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City.
When asked about the Louis Prima Award, Anthony Sylvester said, “It is our great pleasure to represent Gia Prima and we are honored to underwrite this award to young artists and support the performing arts in New Orleans.”
Louis Prima, born in the birthplace of Jazz, New Orleans, remains one of the greatest contributors to popular music and a powerful entertainment influence. The early Swing Era was marked by Mr. Prima's incredible output of compositions and recordings between1933-39, including "Sing, Sing, Sing,” an immortal standard inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982. Louis Prima was awarded the first Grammy award in the Vocal Group category for his knockout rendition of "That Old Black Magic" in 1958. Artists as diverse as David Lee Roth and Brian Setzer brought Louis Prima's music to the top of the charts in the 80's and 90's.
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About the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts: NOCCA is a regional, pre-professional arts training center that offers secondary school-age children intensive instruction in dance, media arts, music (classical, jazz, vocal), theatre arts (drama, musical theatre, theatre design) , visual arts, and creative writing, while demanding simultaneous excellence. NOCCA was founded in 1973 by a diverse coalition of artists, educators, business leaders, and community activists who saw the need for an institution devoted to our region’s burgeoning young talent. Today, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., Terence Blanchard, Nicholas Payton, Jeanne-Michele Charbonnet, Wendell Pierce, and Saints former cornerback Ashley Ambrose are only a few NOCCA graduates who can attest to the extraordinary educational opportunity the Center represents to the children of Louisiana.
About ASCAP: The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is a membership association of more than 420,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every kind of music. Through agreements with affiliated international societies, ASCAP also represents hundreds of thousands of music creators worldwide. ASCAP is the only U.S. performing rights organization created and controlled by composers, songwriters and music publishers, with a Board of Directors elected by and from the membership. ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted works. ASCAP's licensees encompass all who want to perform copyrighted music publicly.
About Riker Danzig: Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP has focused on providing high-quality legal services to the business community. It has been named the #1 law firm in New Jersey by Best Lawyers in America® each year since 2008. Headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, the firm has additional offices in Trenton and New York and an affiliate office in London. The Firm’s Entertainment Law practice represents clients including Gia Prima; the family of actor Sebastian Cabot; former Olympic boxer Gerald Cooney; former I.B.F. Heavyweight Champion Chris Byrd; Joel Dorn, the late Grammy-winning record producer; Guns n’ Roses; and the family of late actress Alice Faye and her husband, entertainer Phil Harris. Riker Danzig has earned a national reputation for expertise in trial and appellate litigation, insurance, commercial law and bankruptcy and, in addition, has highly-respected practices in banking law, environmental law, employment law, family practice, tax and trusts and estates, corporate law and mergers & acquisitions, governmental affairs, public utilities, real estate and intellectual property.
EDITOR’S NOTE: For photographs, more information or to arrange interviews with Ms. Prima and Mr. Sylvester, please call Don Jay Smith at 908-832-1020 or email a requesttodon@lksassociates.com.
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Jim Eigo Jazz Promo Services T: 845-986-1677 E-Mail: jim@jazzpromoservices.com http://www.jazzpromoservices. |
