Here's a vintage 8 page English print of the 1921 Zez Confrey's Novelty/Ragtime Piano solo
Kitten On The Keys (this UK print is much harder to find than the US print)
Music by: Zez Confrey
Conditon: the booklet is in a decent condition for it 's age. a few small tears, tape on spine, pencil mark
and aging.
info:
Edward Elzear "Zez" Confrey (April 3, 1895 – November 22, 1971) was an American composer and performer of novelty
piano and jazz music. His most noted works were "Kitten on the Keys" and "Dizzy Fingers." Studying at the Chicago Musical
College and becoming enthralled by French impressionists played a critical role in how he composed and performed music.
Confrey was born in Peru, Illinois, United States, the youngest child of Thomas and Margaret Confrey. Aspiring to be a
concert pianist, he attended Chicago Musical College and studied with private teachers. He later abandoned that idea for
composing, encouraged by his oldest brother, James J. Confrey, an organist. By 1916 he was a staff pianist for Witmarks in
Chicago. He also enlisted in the US Navy in 1917.
After World War I, Confrey became a pianist and arranger for the QRS piano roll company. He also recorded for AMPICO's reproducing piano system, which was installed in upper-line pianos such as Mason & Hamlin and Chickering.
In 1921 Confrey wrote his novelty piano solo "Kitten on the Keys", inspired by hearing his grandmother's cat walk on the
keyboard of her piano. It became a hit, and he went on to compose many other pieces in the genre. "Dizzy Fingers" (1923)
was Confrey's other biggest seller.
Following the 1920s, Confrey focused primarily on composing for jazz bands. He retired after World War II but continued to
compose until 1959. He died at age 76 in Lakewood, New Jersey after suffering for many years from Parkinson's disease.
He left behind more than a hundred piano works, songs and miniature operas, and numerous piano rolls, music publications
and sound recordings.
Shipping costs:
Worldwide shipping: $11.50 - for 1 to maybe 8 booklets (depending on the thickness)
jazz, ragtime, cake walk, black americana, pre-war music, music hall, tin pan alley, musical theatre, weimar republic, cabarets, cabaret, Josephine baker, Folies Bergère, Moulin Rouge, string bands, dance orchestra, shellac, 78 rpm, Phonograph cylinder, ragtime