The Jazmine
In the city where music is a living current, the notes are a language, and to play is to negotiate with a soul all its own…
Paul Ferrara didn’t just play New Orleans. He conversed with it. His drumming was a legendary dialect, powering Vegas etching a new spell into That Old Black Magic. His legendary mambo beat, the hands that crafted the very introduction for Prima that would win a Grammy and captivate a nation—a creative spark rewarded with a union wage of thirty-five dollars.
His rhythms the heartbeat of a Vegas era where the night wasn’t over until Louis and Keely said so, where stars from Sinatra to Martin leaned in to listen.
But a transaction at the crossroads is forever. The final note of his jazz funeral doesn’t bring silence—it stirs a reckoning. Its echo now travels far beyond the bayou, reaching someone who long ago traded soul for score, searching for perfect order in a world of beautiful noise.
The city calls. It offers no simple inheritance, but a reflection… a confrontation with the true cost of genius, the haunting price of escape, and the legacy of a single, iconic beat that changed everything.
Have Questions?
Frequently Asked
Questions
Is Paul Ferrara a real person?
Yes, with his beautiful New York native wife Diane, the Ferrara home was filled with tall tales, pasta and love for their five daughters, son-in-laws and fourteen grandchildren.
In this autobiographical novella some events are completely true, others are partially true, and some are dramatized for storytelling.
Did Al Hirt’s plane really crash in a cornfield?
Many musicians careers, lives and music were sadly cut short by small plane accidents in this era.
Paul often recalled an emergency landing in an Iowa cornfield, though no official crash record exists.
Did Paul actually meet Al Hirt in a music store?
Yes. A chance meeting at Werlein’s Music Store on Canal Street changed both their careers. Paul Ferrara and PeeWee played behind Al Hirt for decades crafting a unique sound infused with both angelic and jazz congo elements, the signature of the New Orleans Crossroads.
Was Paul really near death as a newborn?
Paul was so tiny at birth that he could fit in a shoebox or an open dresser drawer.
Al Hirt (known as “Jumbo”), lovingly nicknamed him “Mousie.” Family and friends also called him “Junior” and “Mr. Paul.”
Mr. Paul had a distinctive swagger typical of New Orleans men from his generation—larger-than-life characters who mastered the art of blending truth and storytelling.
Did Paul record “That Old Black Magic” with Louis Prima?
Yes. Paul Ferrara is the drummer on the famous 1958 Grammy-winning single.
He is specifically credited with creating the song’s iconic “jazz mambo” drum introduction, for which he was paid a standard union session wage of thirty-five dollars.
What about Paul’s grandson?
Stephen Temple is a fictional character inspired by Paul’s real grandson, Stephen Dale—a talented drummer, vocalist, and actor who studied at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.
Stephen now lives in Madisonville, Louisiana with his wife Kristina and their two children.
