As one of the last original ragtime pianists, James Herbert “Eubie” Blake (1883 – 1983) was a must-have guest for Piano Jazz in this early session from 1980. Demonstrating his iconic composition “Charleston Rag,” Blake shows that he kept his technique sharp well into his late nineties. Blake tells McPartland how he maintained his chops with two hours of practice a day, and he continued to record and perform until his last professional appearance in 1982, one week before his 99th birthday.
Full episode: https://www.npr.org/2012/10/19/123385170/eubie-blake-on-piano-jazz