Bert Kelly (June 2, 1882 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – January 1968 in Long Beach, New York) was an American musician, who pioneered jazz as a banjoist, bandleader, educator, promoter, night club owner, and night club operator.

After professional stints in Seattle and San Francisco, Kelly moved to Chicago in 1914 where he flourished a banjoist, bandleader, and promoter.

In 1915 — before the U.S. prohibition — he founded and operated a Chicago speakeasy called "Bert Kelly's Stables," where patrons were introduced to early jazz.

Early gigs San Francisco Chicago Kelly claimed that his band, Bert Kelly's Jazz Band, was the first to publish the word "jazz" in 1915.

It rapidly gained regional and national popularity as one of the jazz hotspots of the 1920s.