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James Price Johnson

Born: 1st February 1894, New Brunswick, NJ, United States

Died: 17th November 1955, Jamaica, Queens, NY, United States

Nationality: American

James Price Johnson was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key figures in the evolution of ragtime into what was eventually called jazz. Johnson was a major influence on Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, and Fats Waller, who was his student.

Johnson composed many hit songs, including the unofficial anthem of the Roaring Twenties, "The Charleston," and he remained the acknowledged king of New York jazz pianists through most of the 1930s.

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