Osie johnson biography

Biography.
James "Osie" Johnson was a jazz drummer, arranger and singer.
He started working professionally in 1941, was with Sabby Lewis' band in Boston (1942-1943), and then was in the military where he played in a Navy band (1944-.

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Osie Johnson

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He was born in Washington D. C. He left high school in 1941 to begin playing professionaly. After working with Sabby Lewis in Boston for six months (1942-3) he was a member of a navy band that included Clark Terry (1944-5). He then worked as a freelance in Chicago, and from 1951 to 1953 played for Earl Hines; during this period he also performed at Minton's Playhouse with Tony Scott's quartet. In 1954 he joined a trio led by the pianist Dorthy Donegan and toured Europe with Illinois Jaquet. From the mid-1950s Johnson worked principally as a session musician in television and recording studios in New York, while continuing to perform occasionally with groups led by groups led by Clark Terry and Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, and Others. He participated in hundreds of sessions, working with such musicians as Joe Newman (1954, 1956-7), Frank Wess (1954, 1962), Johnny Hodges (1954, 1962-4), Coleman Hawkins (1955- 56, 1958-60, 1963, 1965), Dinah Washington (1956), Jimmy Raney (1956, 1964), Wess Montgomery

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Osie Johnson

Osie Johnson, pseudonimo di James Osle Johnson (Washington, 11 gennaio1923 – New York, 10 febbraio1966), è stato un batterista, cantante e compositorestatunitense.

Batterista perfetto sia nel senso del tempo, del timbro e dello swing, pur non essendo tra i batteristi più virtuosi, pose la proprià sobrietà professionale al servizio dei più grandi jazzisti che non esitarono a richiedere la sua collaborazione come prezioso sideman di sessione.

Biografia

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Dopo gli studi musicali, il suo debutto professionale è datato 1941 in un gruppo chiamato Harlem Dictators, che lasciò nel 1942, unendosi nella formazione di Sabby Lewis.

Dopo il servizio militare (1944 e 1945, nell'orchestra della Marina statunitense), si esibì in vari club di Chicago per poi effettuare alcune tournée con vari jazzleader (Earl Hines, Illinois Jacquet, Tony Scott, ecc.).

Fu dal 1954 attivo sessionman, tra i più richiesti di New York, presente in innumerevoli albums dei più importanti jazzisti del periodo, fu anche ingaggiato dalle emittenti nazionali qual

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Steve Wallace

One thing leads to another and my recent post about trombonist Eddie Bert touched on the drumming of Osie Johnson, which got me to thinking about him and listening again to some of the many records he played on. I’ve been thinking of writing something on him for a while as he’s long been a great favourite, so here goes.

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Both on records and in person, drummer Osie Johnson was all over the hyperactive New York jazz scene from the early 1950s to the mid ’60s. The range of people he played with was imposing – in small groups and big bands, with black and white musicians of several generations and in a variety of styles, on straight “blowing” dates or more complex, written ones – he worked with just about everyone imaginable. His freelance work with Hank Jones, Barry Galbraith and Milt Hinton was so frequent they became known as “The New York Rhythm Section”. The Tom Lord discography lists him as playing on 670 jazz sessions, a hu