Hines is playing more piano than most bandleaders, but he's also giving his sidemen plenty of room to shine, particularly saxophonist and arranger Budd Johnson, who first appears in the band's reed section in 1937, and would continue to work on and off with Hines for the rest of Hines's life (Johnson died a year after Hines, in 1984).
WSJ: Fatha Played Well With Others | Earl Hines | By Will Friedwald