Henry Ragas was a jazz pianist who played with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on their earliest recording sessions. As such, he is the very first jazz pianist to be recorded, although his contributions are barely audible thanks to the primitive recording equipment available. He died of Spanish Flu in 1919, his place in the group being taken by J. Russell Robinson. Cover from album by Bud Powell. ... Shown are (left to right) Tony Sbarbaro (aka Tony Spargo) on drums; Edwin Daddy Edwards on trombone; D. James Nick LaRocca on cornet; Larry Shields on clarinet, and Henry Ragas on piano. ... Public Notice The Spanish Flu Pandemic (less misleadingly called the 1918 flu pandemic) was a pandemic in 1918 and 1919 caused by an unusually severe and deadly strain of the subtype H1N1 of the species Influenza A virus (which apparently killed via cytokine storm, explaining the severe nature and unusual... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... J. Russell Robinson (July 8, 1892 - September 30, 1963) was a United States ragtime and jazz pianist and a composer of popular tunes. ...