Although his name isn’t as famous as his most popular music, James P. Johnson played a key part in the Jazz Age and Harlem Renaissance, with his crucial contributions including pioneering the influential Harlem Stride Piano style, composing music for more than 40 musicals and, in 1921, performing what is acknowledged as the first recorded jazz piano solo. Johnson’s Drums—A Symphonic Poem stems from music introduced in his 1932 stage production Harlem Hotcha.