Edward Elzear "Zez" Confrey (April 3, 1895 – November 22, 1971) was an influential American composer and performer known for his novelty piano and jazz music. Born in Peru, Illinois, Confrey was the youngest child of Thomas and Margaret Confrey. Initially aspiring to be a concert pianist, he studied at the Chicago Musical College and with private teachers, but eventually shifted his focus to composing, encouraged by his brother James J. Confrey, an organist.

By 1916, Confrey was working as a staff pianist for Witmarks in Chicago, and he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1917. After World War I, he joined the QRS piano roll company as a pianist and arranger, and also recorded for AMPICO's reproducing piano system. His first major hit was the novelty piano solo "Kitten on the Keys" in 1921, inspired by a cat walking on his grandmother's piano. This was followed by another successful piece, "Dizzy Fingers," in 1923.

Throughout his career, Confrey composed over a hundred piano works, songs, and miniature operas, and produced numerous piano rolls and recordings. After the 1920s, he focused more on composing for jazz bands and retired after World War II, although he continued to compose until 1959. Confrey passed away at the age of 76 in Lakewood, New Jersey, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.