The Buddy Johnson Orchestra was one of the few big bands that were able to stay together during the second half of the 1940s. They did that by featuring the vocals of
Ella Johnson and
Arthur Prysock, leaning towards R&B at times and hinting at (but not outright playing) bebop. This CD has the music from
Johnson's last three sessions of 1947 and his three 1949 dates; the 1948 recording strike caused a gap. There were no major soloists in the band, but the musicianship was high, the vocalists (heard along with
Buddy Johnson himself on all but four numbers) were excellent and there was plenty of spirit.