Osie Johnson

In the 1950s as well as the first half of the 1960s, Osie Johnson was perhaps one of the most in-demand drummers in NY, making a many recordings and functioning steadily within the studios. He began working skillfully in 1941, was with Sabby Lewis’ music group in Boston (1942-1943), and is at the armed forces where he performed within a Navy music group (1944-1945). After five years freelancing in Chicago, Johnson was an associate of Earl Hines’ music group during 1951-1953. Stints with Dorothy Donegan and Illinois Jacquet implemented before he became a active program musician, playing and documenting using a who’s who of mainstream (including Coleman Hawkins, Dinah Washington, Wes Montgomery, and Sonny Stitt). Furthermore to adding tasteful and supportive drums, Osie Johnson was an intermittent composer, arranger, and vocalist, leading periods for Jazztone (1955) and RCA (1956).