Louis Armstrong was an influential American jazz trumpeter and vocalist born in 1901 in New Orleans. He was one of the most innovative figures in jazz history and potentially the most popular jazz musician. Armstrong learned to play trumpet in a reformatory as a boy and began performing with influential bands. Between 1925-1928, his work with the Hot Five and Hot Seven groups produced jazz classics and greatly influenced the genre. Armstrong toured Europe in the 1930s and continued performing globally until his death in 1971.