Johnny Hartman
Encyclopedia
John Maurice Hartman was an American bass jazz
singer who specialized in ballad
s and earned critical acclaim, though he was never widely known. He recorded a well-known collaboration with the saxophonist John Coltrane
in 1963 called John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
, and was briefly a member of Dizzy Gillespie
's group. Most of his career was spent recording solo albums.
, Hartman began singing and playing the piano by age eight. Hartman attended DuSable High School studying music under Walter Dyett before receiving a scholarship to Chicago Musical College
. He sang as an Army
private during World War II
, but his first professional work came in September 1946 when he won a singing contest awarding him a one-week engagement with Earl Hines
. Seeing potential in the singer, Hines hired him for the next year. Although Hartman’s first recordings were with Marl Young in February 1947, it was the collaboration with Hines that provided notable exposure. After the Hines orchestra broke up, Dizzy Gillespie
invited Hartman to join his big band in 1948 during an eight-week tour in California. Dropped from the band about one year later, Hartman worked for a short time with pianist Erroll Garner
before going solo by early 1950.
After recording several singles with different orchestras, Hartman finally released his first solo album, Songs From the Heart, with a quintet for Bethlehem Records
in 1955. Releasing two more albums with small labels, neither very successful, Hartman got a career-altering offer in 1963 to record with John Coltrane. The saxophonist likely remembered Hartman from a bill they shared at the Apollo Theater
in 1950 and later said, “I just felt something about him, I don’t know what it was. I like his sound, I thought there was something there I had to hear so I looked him up and did that album.” Featuring all ballads, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
is widely considered a classic. This led to recording four more albums with Impulse! and parent label ABC
, all produced by Bob Thiele
.
With the 1970s being difficult for singers clinging to the pre-rock American songbook, Hartman turned to playing cocktail lounges in New York City
and Chicago. Recording again with small labels like Perception and Musicor
, Hartman produced music of mixed quality as he attempted to be viewed as a more versatile vocalist. Referring to his approach to interpreting a song, Hartman said, “Well, to me a lyric is a story, almost like talking, telling somebody a story, try to make it believable.” Returning to the jazz combo format of his earlier albums, Hartman recorded Once in Every Life for Bee Hive, earning him a 1981 Grammy nomination for Best Male Jazz Vocalist. This was quickly followed up by his last album of newly recorded material titled This One’s for Tedi as a tribute to his wife.
Hartman recorded new tracks for Grenadilla Records on their jazz label - Grapevine. These were dance tracks of Beyond the Sea and Caravan with Caravan also having an extended 6-minute version.
In the early 1980s Hartman gave several performances for jazz festivals, television, and radio before succumbing to lung cancer
at age sixty. His reputation grew considerably in 1995 when the soundtrack to Clint Eastwood’s Bridges of Madison County
(1995) featured seven songs from the then out-of-print Bee Hive album.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer who specialized in ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s and earned critical acclaim, though he was never widely known. He recorded a well-known collaboration with the saxophonist John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
in 1963 called John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman is a 1963 studio album featuring John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman.Though Coltrane and Hartman had known each other since their days playing with Dizzy Gillespie's band in the late 1940s , Hartman is the only vocalist with whom the...
, and was briefly a member of Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
's group. Most of his career was spent recording solo albums.
Biography
Born and raised in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Hartman began singing and playing the piano by age eight. Hartman attended DuSable High School studying music under Walter Dyett before receiving a scholarship to Chicago Musical College
Chicago Musical College
Chicago Musical College is a division of Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt UniversityIt was founded in 1867, less than four decades after the city of Chicago was incorporated...
. He sang as an Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
private during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but his first professional work came in September 1946 when he won a singing contest awarding him a one-week engagement with Earl Hines
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
. Seeing potential in the singer, Hines hired him for the next year. Although Hartman’s first recordings were with Marl Young in February 1947, it was the collaboration with Hines that provided notable exposure. After the Hines orchestra broke up, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
invited Hartman to join his big band in 1948 during an eight-week tour in California. Dropped from the band about one year later, Hartman worked for a short time with pianist Erroll Garner
Erroll Garner
Erroll Louis Garner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard...
before going solo by early 1950.
After recording several singles with different orchestras, Hartman finally released his first solo album, Songs From the Heart, with a quintet for Bethlehem Records
Bethlehem Records
Bethlehem Records was a record label based in New York and Hollywood founded by Gus Wildi in 1953. It was bought by King Records in the early 1960s....
in 1955. Releasing two more albums with small labels, neither very successful, Hartman got a career-altering offer in 1963 to record with John Coltrane. The saxophonist likely remembered Hartman from a bill they shared at the Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
in 1950 and later said, “I just felt something about him, I don’t know what it was. I like his sound, I thought there was something there I had to hear so I looked him up and did that album.” Featuring all ballads, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman is a 1963 studio album featuring John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman.Though Coltrane and Hartman had known each other since their days playing with Dizzy Gillespie's band in the late 1940s , Hartman is the only vocalist with whom the...
is widely considered a classic. This led to recording four more albums with Impulse! and parent label ABC
ABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....
, all produced by Bob Thiele
Bob Thiele
Bob Thiele was an American record producer who worked on countless classic jazz albums and record labels.-Biography:...
.
With the 1970s being difficult for singers clinging to the pre-rock American songbook, Hartman turned to playing cocktail lounges in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Chicago. Recording again with small labels like Perception and Musicor
Musicor
The name Musicor may represent any of the following:* Musicor Records -- an American record label.* Distribution Musicor -- a Canadian record label unrelated to the above; see Distribution Select....
, Hartman produced music of mixed quality as he attempted to be viewed as a more versatile vocalist. Referring to his approach to interpreting a song, Hartman said, “Well, to me a lyric is a story, almost like talking, telling somebody a story, try to make it believable.” Returning to the jazz combo format of his earlier albums, Hartman recorded Once in Every Life for Bee Hive, earning him a 1981 Grammy nomination for Best Male Jazz Vocalist. This was quickly followed up by his last album of newly recorded material titled This One’s for Tedi as a tribute to his wife.
Hartman recorded new tracks for Grenadilla Records on their jazz label - Grapevine. These were dance tracks of Beyond the Sea and Caravan with Caravan also having an extended 6-minute version.
In the early 1980s Hartman gave several performances for jazz festivals, television, and radio before succumbing to lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at age sixty. His reputation grew considerably in 1995 when the soundtrack to Clint Eastwood’s Bridges of Madison County
The Bridges of Madison County (film)
The Bridges of Madison County is a 1995 American romantic drama film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Robert James Waller. It was produced by Amblin Entertainment and Malpaso Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment...
(1995) featured seven songs from the then out-of-print Bee Hive album.
Discography
- Songs from the Heart (Bethlehem, 1955)
- All of Me (Bethlehem, 1956)
- Johnny Hartman Sings...Just You, Just Me (Savoy Jazz, 1957)
- And I Thought About You (Roost, 1959)
- John Coltrane and Johnny HartmanJohn Coltrane and Johnny HartmanJohn Coltrane and Johnny Hartman is a 1963 studio album featuring John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman.Though Coltrane and Hartman had known each other since their days playing with Dizzy Gillespie's band in the late 1940s , Hartman is the only vocalist with whom the...
(Impulse!, 1963) - I Just Dropped By to Say HelloI Just Dropped By to Say HelloI Just Dropped By to Say Hello is a 1963 studio album by jazz singer Johnny Hartman. It was Hartman's second and next-to-last album on Impulse!, after his highly successful collaboration with John Coltrane which produced John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, recorded a few months earlier.-Track...
(Impulse!, 1963) - The Voice That Is!The Voice That Is!The Voice That Is! is an album by American jazz vocalist Johnny Hartman featuring performances recorded in 1964 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:...
(Impulse!, 1965) - Unforgettable Songs (ABC-Paramount, 1966)
- I Love Everybody (ABC-Paramount, 1967)
- Today (Perception Records, 1972)
- Hartman Meets Hino (Capital-Japan, 1972)
- Hartman Sings Trane's Favorites (Capital-Japan, 1972)
- I've Been There (Perception, 1973)
- Johnny Hartman (Musicor, 1977)
- Live At Sometime (Japan, 1977)
- Once In Every Life (Bee Hive RecordsBee Hive Records-Discography:-References:*...
, 1980) - This One's for Tedi (Audiophile, 1985)
- For Trane (Blue Note, 1995)
- Johnny Hartman Collection 1947-1972 (Hip-O, 1998)
- Thanks for Everything (Audiophile, 1998)
- Complete Regent Recordings (Jazz Factory, 2001)
- You Came A Long Way From St. Louis (Definitive, 2003)
- A Proper Introductio to Johnny Hartman: There Goes My Heart (Proper, 2004)
- Tokyo Albums (Gambit, 2005)
- Boston Concert 1976 (Gambit, 2007)
- Dancetracks: "Beyond the Sea" & "Caravan" recorded in 1979 (Grenadilla Music, 2010)