James P. Johnson

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James P. Johnson

American composer and pianist

Also known as: James Price Johnson

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Nov 13, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: James Price Johnson

Born:: February 1, 1894, New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.

Died:: November 17, 1955, New York, New York (aged 61)

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James P. Johnson (born February 1, 1894, New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.—died November 17, 1955, New York, New York) was a highly influential American jazz pianist who also wrote popular songs and composed classical works. A founder of the stride piano idiom, he was a crucial figure in the transition from ragtime to jazz. In his youth Johnson studied classical and ragtime piano techniques, and by his late teens he was performing in saloons, in dance halls, and at parties in a Black community on Manhattan’s West Side, near Hell’s Kitchen. While playing for dancers before 1920 he became noted ...(100 of 289 words)

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