Complex sentence: James Sylvester Scott (February 12,1886--August 30,1938) was an African-American ragtime composer, regarded as one of the three most important composers of classic ragtime, along with Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb.
Split into simpler sentences: James Sylvester Scott (February 12,1886--August 30,1938) was an African-American ragtime composer. Scott is regarded as one of the three most important composers of classic ragtime, along with Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb.