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Osie Johnson

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Osie Johnson
Osie Johnson (ca. 1954)
Osie Johnson (ca. 1954)
Background information
Birth nameJames Johnson
Born(1923-01-11)January 11, 1923
Washington, D.C., United States
DiedFebruary 10, 1966(1966-02-10) (aged 43)
New York City, N.Y., United States
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentDrums

James "Osie" Johnson (January 11, 1923, in Washington, D.C. – February 10, 1966, in New York City) was a jazz drummer, arranger and singer.[1]

Biography

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Johnson studied at Armstrong Highschool where he was classmates with Leo Parker and Frank Wess.[1] 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.[2] 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[3][4], and laying down grooves for Harry Belafonte's breakout albums.[5][6][7]

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.[8][9][10] He can be heard on albums by Paul Gonsalves, Sims, and Mose Allison and is the drummer on Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife". (Some sources list Don Lamond as the drummer on "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.[11]

Johnson died from kidney failure in 1966, at the age of 43.[1]

Discography

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As leader

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As sideman

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With Bob Brookmeyer

With Jimmy Cleveland

With Al Cohn

With Coleman Hawkins

With Johnny Hodges

With Hank Jones

With Quincy Jones

With Howard McGhee

With Joe Newman

With Oscar Pettiford

With Jimmy Raney

With Ben Webster

With others

References

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  1. ^ a b c Feather, Leonard (1999). The biographical encyclopedia of jazz. Oxford University Press. p. 365. ISBN 978-0-19-507418-5.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ "Tony Scott: Fingerpoppin' - Complete Recordings 1954-1955". Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  4. ^ "Tony Scott And His Orchestra – The Complete Tony Scott, Vol. III". Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  5. ^ "Harry Belafonte – Belafonte". Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  6. ^ "Harry Belafonte – Calypso". Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  7. ^ "Calypso - Harry Belafonte". Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  8. ^ Cerra, Steven. "Osie Johnson: An Undistinguished Distinctive Drummer". JazzProfiles. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  9. ^ Wallace, Steve. "The Strange Case of Osie Johnson". Steve Wallace. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  10. ^ Iverson, Ethan. "Interview with Steve Little". DO THE M@TH. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  11. ^ Video on YouTube
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