Luis Russell (Careening Clay, 1902 – 6 August - New York, 11 december 1963) was a jazzpianist and big bandleader. In the 1930s he accompanied trumpeter Louis Armstrong for years. Russell was born in Panama, where his father taught him to play different instruments: in addition to the piano also violin, guitar and trombone. In his country he accompanied silent films and he played in a casino. In 1919 he won 3000 dollars in a Lottery and used that money to with his mother and sister to move to Los Angeles.There, he played in various bands, including those of Albert Nicholas. In 1924 he moved to Chicago, where he worked with men as Doc Cooke and King Oliver. With Oliver he went to New York, where he started his own band in 1927. That group consisted of ten man In 1929, including Red Allen, J.