Here's a great example of ragtime piano the way it was: this recording was played by Manuel "Fess" Manetta, an old New Orleans "professor" of the 1910s.
Manuel Manetta was an accomplished ragtime pianist, but he also played other instruments and teached music. One of his students was famous jazz trumpeter Henry "Red" Allen.
This recording is accompanied by film footage of Fess Manetta playing piano.
The piece is Scott Joplin's "Cascades" and that's the kind of music played in New Orleans' red light district in those days.
