One of jazz's first-call trombonists in his time, J.J. Johnson played with just about everybody. He spiced up Charlie Parker's “Crazeology” with pensive solos and added an effortlessly relaxed tone to Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool (as heard on “Deception”). In “Nutville”, Johnson filled out Horace Silver's big sound, countering Woody Shaw's searing trumpet with ease.