Osie Johnson


James "Osie" Johnson was a jazz drummer, arranger and singer.

Biography

Johnson studied at Armstrong Highschool where he was classmates with Leo Parker and Frank Wess. He first worked with Sabby Lewis and then, after service in the United States Navy, freelanced for a time in Chicago. From 1951 to 1953, he was a member of Earl Hines's band. He spent some time in the 1950s in Tony Scott's orchestra, alongside musicians including Bill Evans, Milt Hinton, Thad Jones, Kai Winding, Sahib Shihab, Zoot Sims, and Wess, and laying down grooves for Harry Belafonte's breakout albums.
Johnson has been recognized as a player whose breadth of performance and recordings during his lifetime seem out of proportion to his relatively low profile thereafter. He can be heard on albums by Paul Gonsalves, Sims, and Mose Allison and is the drummer on Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife". and on Ray Conniff's first album 'S Wonderful!. He recorded the album A Bit of the Blues as a singer and had arranged at a "hit" for singer Dinah Washington. His final recordings as a singer were on a J. J. Johnson album, now compiled as a collection called Goodies.
In 1957, Johnson appeared with Thelonious Monk and Ahmed Abdul-Malik on The Sound of Jazz.
Johnson died from kidney failure in 1966, at the age of 43.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Bob BrookmeyerBrookmeyer Jazz Concerto Grosso with Gerry Mulligan and Phil Sunkel The Street Swingers with Jim Hall and Jimmy Raney Kansas City Revisited
With Jimmy Cleveland Introducing Jimmy Cleveland and His All Stars Rhythm Crazy
With Al CohnMr. Music The Natural Seven That Old Feeling Four Brass One Tenor From A to...Z with Zoot SimsThe Sax Section Cohn on the Saxophone
With Coleman HawkinsAccent on Tenor Sax The Hawk in Hi Fi The Hawk in Paris Soul Hawk Eyes Coleman Hawkins All Stars with Joe Thomas and Vic Dickenson At Ease with Coleman Hawkins Coleman Hawkins and His Orchestra The Hawk Swings
With Johnny HodgesSandy's Gone Blue Rabbit Con-Soul & Sax with Wild Bill Davis
With Hank JonesThe Talented Touch This Is Ragtime Now!
With Quincy JonesThe Birth of a Band! Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini
With Johnny MathisJohnny Mathis
With Howard McGheeLife Is Just a Bowl of Cherries Music from the Connection
With Joe Newman New Sounds in Swing with Billy Byers I Feel Like a Newman The Midgets Locking Horns with Zoot Sims
With Oscar PettifordBasically Duke Another One The Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi
With Jimmy RaneyJimmy Raney featuring Bob Brookmeyer with Bob BrookmeyerTwo Jims and Zoot with Jim Hall and Zoot Sims
With Ben WebsterMusic with Feeling See You at the Fair
With others