Early Life
Luis Carl Russell was born on Careening Cay, near Bocas del Toro, Panama, in a family of Afro-Caribbean ancestry. His father was a music teacher, and young Luis learned to play violin, guitar, trombone, and piano. He began playing professionally accompanying silent film by 1917 and later at a casino in Colón, Panama. In 1919 he won $3000 (USD) in a lottery, and used it to move to the United States with his mother and sister, settling in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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