Louis Prima was an American singer, trumpeter and bandleader from New Orleans who began performing in the late 1920s and led swing and big-band ensembles before moving into smaller jump-blues and rhythm-and-blues groups. His music blended New Orleans jazz, swing and jump blues with lively scat singing and stage humour, evolving from big-band arrangements in the 1930s–40s to more R&B‑inflected combos in the postwar era and becoming associated with the Las Vegas entertainment scene and Italian‑American nightclub circuit.
