Blue Trombone contains material from several atypical sessions in J. J. Johnson s discography. Although he was usually featured in either a quintet format, a sextet with co-leader and fellow trombonist Kai Winding, or playing as a guest soloist with larger combos or big bands, he is the only horn featured on these dates. His accompanists are all great musicians who had already made a name for themselves: Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Max Roach on drums. Although the initial idea for the 1957 quartet was to record one single album, the sessions went so well that it was decided to continue producing material for two LPs, which would be titled First Place (reissued on our companion volume AJC 99003) and Blue Trombone. This quartet would never record again, and Johnson wouldn t record again in a quartet format until 1960. Our edition compiles the complete album Blue Trombone, plus two tunes from previous quintet sessions on which the second horn stayed out ( Portrait of Jenny taped on June 6, 1955 and Our Love Is Here to Stay taped on January 29, 1957). The rest of these sessions are to be found on our companion volume First Place, which also contains three tunes from the same sessions that were never issued on either of the two albums ( I ve Got You Under My Skin , Out of My Dreams and God Bless the Child ), as well as a complete 1954 session on which Johnson is also the only horn (two songs were recorded in a quartet format, while the rest were taped in a quintet setting with conga drummer Sabu added). Together, the two volumes complete all of Johnson s quartet recordings up to 1960.