Novelty piano -- a popular idiom that took America by storm for seven years beginning in 1921 with the publication of "Kitten on the Keys" -- was the brainchild of Edward Elzier "Zez" Confrey (1895 - 1971).

Born on April 3, 1895, in Peru, Illinois, Confrey was one of those once-every-century geniuses who inexplicably vanishes into a mist of obscurity.

Confrey was recognized for his genius while he was still alive. He debuted "Kitten on the Keys" on February 12, 1924, at Aeolian Hall as a participant in the concert during which another young composer/pianist premiered his Rhapsody in Blue. Indeed, the concert was billed as "Paul Whiteman and his Palais Royal Orchestra will offer an Experiment in Modern Music, assisted by Zez Confrey and George Gershwin."

Confrey recorded about 125 piano rolls, some of which songs were also recorded by Gershwin. Of the common songs they recorded, most critics gave the nod to Confrey for presentation. He was a masterful piano player.

In addition to novelty music, Confrey composed numerous popular songs, piano etudes, miniature operas, mood pieces and children's pieces for beginning piano players.

Ronny Schiff writes in the introduction to the Confrey folio (see below): "Concerning 'Kitten on the Keys,' the composer tells an amusing story of its origin. Zez was staying at his grandmother's house over the weekend and after a quiet evening had retired to his room. Suddenly he was awakened by a strange series of sounds which seemed to be emanating from the old fashioned upright piano in the parlor. He went down to investigate and discovered the house cat promenading back and forth across the keyboard. That incident was later developed into one of the most famous of all piano fantasies."

Confrey died on November 22, 1971, in Lakewood, New Jersey.

Other novelty piano composers include Roy Bargy (1894 - 1974), Rube Bloom (1902 - 1976), Billy Mayerl (1902 - 1959), Phil Ohlman (1896 - 1954) and Arthur Schutt (1902 - 1965). Of them, Mayerl -- a Londoner -- is considered by most students of the subject to be top-drawer. Arthur Schutt wrote "Bluin' the Black Keys," an ingenious accomplishment that can be found on John Roache's Ragtime MIDI Page.

George McClellan (oldgeorge@earthlink.net) of San Gabriel, California, composes novelty piano tunes today. Listen to his "Cricket" and "Tin Lizzy" for an idea of how clever novelty piano composers can be.

For a more detailed look at novelty piano, see my essay, The Joy of Novelty.