Are there any Hartman fans out there? He died a few years
ago. I believe he was "under recorded." Just didn't
make the big time, but he should have. I have several
of his albums, and was lucky enough to catch his live act
act at the Club Ibis, in NYC, in 1978. His three LP's on Impulse
were real classics, especially the one with John Coltrane.
When I worked for N.Y. Tel, over on East 38th St, I JUST
missed a corner conversation with Hartman. My good friend
bumped into him and chatted for a long time.
Hartman always admired and looked up to Sinatra. He
had his own style, and never really tried to copy Sinatra.
Johnny Hartman is still one of my favorites. I truly enjoy
the songs. John

Hi John! Johnny Hartman was without a doubt the best jazz caberet singer! His voice and style commanded respect from all! His work with Coltrane a masterpiece! Probably the greatest recording of "Lush Life!" I had the pleasure of seeing John perform in a small club in New Jersey,and as he started to sing, there was a group of loud drinkers at the bar! Johnny stopped and simply stated, I would appreciate your attention otherwise, the gig is over! He was a true pro! Ed

Hi Ed
I also recall seeing Hartman at Pace University
backed up one of the Elgart studio bands. (mostly
college students) I have all the cd's that I know
of, plus a couple of LP's that I put on disc. Have
you ever heard his version of "Down in the Depths,
on the 90th Floor"? Just a great tune. John

Good topic!

The last I heard of Johnny Hartman was when some of his songs were played in the movie The Bridges of Madison County.

I guess Clint Eastwood is a fan too.

"Lush Life" was certainly one of his best. I also like "My One and Only Love".

Definitely an underplayed and underappreciated talent!

Carl, on one of the Hartman CD's there is a live rendition
of "The Old Black Magic," where he sings in Yiddish! (also
a reference to Sammy davis Jr) John

[Amy L]

Oh Yes what a great singer, and I agree very underated...I too just love his "Lush Life" song...His great baritone voice just blended so smoothly with the artistry of John Coltrane...I best like them when they make their beautiful music together...Great topic...glad to see their are other Hartman fans out there...His emotional interpretation of some songs even rivals, dare I say, the "Chairman" at times...

I'm a big Hartman fan, I've got most everything He did and have always been amazed that He never had much mass appeal. I remember seeing him on the Sammy Davis Jr. and always enjoyed his class.

I have seen that there are some recent re issues of Johnny Hartman's small collection of recordings. I am happy to see that. As stated before, I believe he is one of our most under rated singers.
Regards, John

The perfect blend of passionate tenor saxophone and sensual baritone vocals. One of the most romantic albums ever recorded. With, McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison,bass; and, Elvin Jones, drums. Ya gotta hear it, to believe it!Go ahead, make your day!

[nico]

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=389

mr heartmann had such a deep voice the depth of the ocean could not cover his voice.

i first heard johnny in the movie "the bridges of madison county"

from thenn on i was hooked.

anyone know johnny?

have a look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUSZ4wwjRVU

[Ronald Sarbo]

Johnny Hartman was a fine singer who sadly did not get the recognition he deserved in his lifetime.

His album with Coltrane is one of the most beautifully romantic (albeit short) LP's of all time.

[Gregory]

Originally Posted by paulmock

His album with Coltrane is one of the most beautifully romantic (albeit short) LP's of all time.

Thank you for the album recommendation, Paul. I just downloaded from iTunes.

Originally Posted by gregoryr1m

Thank you for the album recommendation, Paul. I just downloaded from iTunes.

Greg,

Glad to do it. I must admit that (for me) it's a real close tie for most romantic album between that one and Dean Martin's splendid "Dream with Dean" from 1964. Both are so soft and sweet and jazz-tinged that you cannot help but melt while listening to them.

[Edwin]

marvelous voice and he knew how to use it. The 1963 album "John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman" is a true masterpiece with the definitive version of "Lush Life" andf wonderul versions of "You Are Too Beautiful" and "My One and Only Love." Another great Hartman ballad album, this one from the '50's, is "Songs from the Heart" with accompaniment by the Ralph Sharon Quartet featuring Howard McGhee. On most of his album covers and other photos I've seen, he's smoking a ciagarette. They killed him in 1983.

"On most of his album covers and other photos I've seen, he's smoking a ciagarette. They killed him in 1983."

Edwin,

Hartman, as did Nat Cole, actually believed that smoking HELPED his voice! They both felt it added a smoothness to their (no pun intended) smoky quality.

[Greggie]

I just love listening to the album he made with Coltrane. I never tire of his deep, sensual voice.

[lorenzotedesco]

Thanks for the link to this article Nico. I enjoyed it. Please include me in the Johnny Hartman fan club on this forum. He was terrific.

I too recommend the three Impulse albums as well as some of the earlier things on Bethlehem and Roost. I was all set to mention "Once in Every Life" on Beehive records but the afore mentioned story about Hartman stole my thunder. In case you did not read the story but are following this thread however, "Once in Every Life" was recorded late in his career and to my knowledge has never made it to CD at least in its entirety. I can not imagine why. But Clint Eastwood used several cuts from it on his "Bridges of Madison County" film and soundtrack. Then when "Remembering Madison County" was issued it included all the remaining Hartman tracks from "Once in Every Life". So if you own both Madison County CDs you have this fine album. Another album from the same period that did make it to CD is "This One's For Tedi" on Audiophile. I pulled my Hartman albums out after seeing this thread and noticed that both "Once in Every Life" and "This One's for Tedi" were recorded in August, 1980. the former on the 11th and the latter on the 23rd. Hartman was very busy that summer. "This One's For Tedi" featured his working pianist at the time, Tony Monte.

Everyone likes to say that Johnny Hartman was under-recorded or not appreciated enough. But this is all relative. I find his body of work to be much greater than say a David Allyn. Oh well. Hooray for Johnny Hartman. He was an original.

[BobbyGrindrod]

So glad to see that Johnny is so much admired here. I don't know anyone else who is a fan!

As far as the smoking is concerned, there's no doubt that heavy smoking lends more gravelly tones to the voice. Clearly, smoking is terribly dangerous. But apart from that, whether it improves the sound or otherwise is up to the listener to decide, I suppose...

[lorenzotedesco]

I also had the good fortune to catch Johnny performing a few times. The last two times were at Michael's Pub in Manhattan. His pianist during that period was Tony Monte.

I was playing the big shot at the time. I took my two brothers and my older sister to NYC to see the show. They were not familiar with NYC at night and the intimacy of small clubs like Michael's Pub. In between sets Johnny went off to a section of the club away from the stage and sat quietly smoking and drinking coffee. The four of us just stared at him suburban hicks that we were. Being the "host" at this affair I felt it was up to me to lead the way so I walked over and shared a few words with Johnny. He was very gracious and I scurried away not wanting to intrude any longer. My "baby" brother who must have been all of 21 at the time was a different story. He did not have the music background that I have. He pretty much listened to the pop music of the day but he was also very taken by Johnny's performance and the intimacy of his singing. My brother started off by telling Johnny that he had never been able to hear music before that night. He thanked Johnny for "fixing" his hearing. Then he sat himself down at Johnny's table and they had a long chat about music. My brother had a lot of nerve. The next weekend he and I returned to the same spot to catch Johnny again. Those were wonderful times for all of us. And my brother who is now half a century old is still a big Johnny Hartman fan.