Johnny Hartman with John Coltrane

Yes the classic of classic where the rich coffee Hartman met up with Tranes "Classic Quartet" who played more beatiffully and "in the pocket"(something which some crtics thought Coltarne could not do) than even their legendary "Ballds" LP.A defineite classic!
If you want more Hartman his second best is also a Impulse gig called "I just Dropped By To Say Hello" with Illinois Jacquet on Sax and Kenny Burell on Guitar.Net in the Impulse catalogue almost in that top tier "Unforgettable" while "The Voicve That is" another Impulse! IS good but not great.
His early Savoy work is like pre-Capitol Sinatra just not mature enough .Next to his to great two Impluse! Lp's is the 1980 LP on Bee Hive Called "Once in Every Life" but hard to find used as LP on ebay yet fotunately Clint Eastwood used it in his soundtrack for "Bridges Of Madison County" which has a few of the Bee Hive cut's and the rest on "Rembering Madison County"(making Hartman much more known in death than life since eveybody who went to the film asked smarmy opinonated record clercks like me which was his best and of course the Coltrane gig came up A+)

Hartman also had some other fine efforts like "And I thought about you (orginally Roost but put out by Blue Note/Capitol) and a Japanese band led by Terumasa Hino called "For Trane" and another fine outting on Audiophile called "This One's For Teddy".With his good looks and sexy voice he could have been a star but his career was started in the 50's and eneded through lung cancer in 1980.with his overt sensuality well remember how hemmed inthings were for Poitier and Belafonte in their early careers and you see if he came along a little latter Johnny Hartman might have much more recorded than he was.
For a list of his complete discography and a list of other barritones from the lighter (and wonderfull )Bill henderson to pioneer Billy Eckstine and full deep baritones like Joe Williams and Earl Coleman just get a copy mof the jazz lovers bible "The All Music Guide To Jazz" or see thier web site www.amg.com.
Yeah Johnny Hartman.Durring 6 years of running a jazz section at a equipment/CD shop I could get into disagreements about Billie versus Ella,if Mel Torme is/was the male Ella,or if Chet Baker was a great singer though be it with a narrow range NOBODY in the know who wasn't a comlete pinhead said anything other than Hartman was one of the under reccongnized greats.
Chazz

Trasando
The Classic Quartet had a groove that many folks myslef felt was the peak.Once Pharoah Sander entered in on Meditations things just got more and more out.You have to wonder what Coltrane was thinking that he who was a grerat innovator in the line from Coleman Hawkins to Sonny Rollins and to Colatrane who started his career relatively late as a leader had such an impact as an inovator from his Miles perios to Giant Steps "SDheets Of Sound" why would he follow Albert Ayler or Shepp into the new thing?Less satisfying musically he fllowed and din't lead for the last four years of his life fater '64.But if you want to hear some stuff that will blow your mind check out the live recordings availible on small lables like Blue Parrot of his live stuff in Europe and Japan in 64-65.He kjept the standard repetory but started to extend the songs out to up to 20 minutes and it is much heavier than what what he had done previously,still with Tyner,Garrison ,and Jones but much more fre and harder edge.But Lp's like The Major Works of John Coltrane-it's just to out.For me.I like some of the "New Thing" but insmall dosees.But hey what if he had lived.Just listen to the beaautifull Lp's that Sanders made recently like "Journey To The One" or Shepp's beatific Ballad Lp/CD's on Venus (the best recodings I have ever heard on 24 bit machines that wehn played back on CD players blow 95% of all CD's away".Or Marion Brown "Offering".These guys could now be said to have become neo conservative or full circle.I think that Coltrane may have done amzingly beautifull things but like with Hendrix we can only wonder.
C