Ralph Jose P. Burns (June 29, 1922 – November 21, 2001) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Burns was born in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, where he began playing the piano as a child. In 1938, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music. He admitted that he learned the most about jazz by transcribing the works of Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. While a student, Burns lived in the home of Frances Wayne. Wayne was an established big band singer and her brother Nick Jerret was a bandleader who began working with Burns. He found himself in the company of such performers as Nat King Cole and Art Tatum.