Henry Ragas

Henry W. Ragas ( born January 1, 1898 in New Orleans, † February 18, 1919 in New York City ) was an American jazz pianist and composer.

He accompanied the Original Dixieland Jass band ( ODJB ) on their first recordings, making it the first jazz pianist from which recordings exist (apart from piano rolls ). Because of that recording technique but he is difficult to hear and he only accompanied them. He can be heard on the first 21 shots of the ODJB, including Livery Stable Blues, Tiger Rag, Clarinet Marmalade and Bluin The Blues, which he composed in 1917, as well as " Lazy Daddy ", " Dixieland Jass Band One -Step ", " Clarinet Marmalade " (co- composer with Larry Shields ) and" travel Weber Rag ".

Ragas played by ear, played from 1910 to 1913 and came solo in 1916 with Johnny Stone to Chicago and played from 1916 in the ODJB. In 1919, he died of the Spanish flu. Pianist at the ODJB was then J. Russel Robinson.