''John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman'' is a studio album by
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and raise ...
and
Johnny Hartman
John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer who specialized in ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. Hartman is best remembered for his ...
which was released by
Impulse! Records
Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...
in July or August 1963.
It was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame
The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...
in 2013.
Background
Although it is often reported that Coltrane and Hartman had known each other since their days playing with
Dizzy Gillespie's band in the late 1940s, their time in the band never overlapped. Coltrane might have heard Hartman sing at a 1950
Apollo Theater performance at which they shared the stage. Hartman is the only vocalist with whom the saxophonist would record as a leader. Initially when producer
Bob Thiele
Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to:
Places
*Mount Bob, New York, United States
*Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica
People, fictional characters, and named animals
* Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
*Bob (surname ...
approached Hartman with Coltrane's request that the two record together, Hartman was hesitant as he did not consider himself a jazz singer and did not think he and Coltrane would complement one another musically.
[John S. Wilson]
"POP/JAZZ"
''The New York Times'', May 21, 1982. However, Thiele encouraged Hartman to go see Coltrane perform at
Birdland in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
to see if they could work something out. Hartman did and after the club closed, he, Coltrane and Coltrane's pianist,
McCoy Tyner
Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...
, went over some songs together. On March 7, 1963, Coltrane and Hartman had decided on 10 songs for the record album, but en route to the studio they heard
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
on the radio performing "
Lush Life", and Hartman immediately decided that song had to be included in their album.
Recording and music
They recorded on March 7, 1963, at the
Van Gelder Studio
The Van Gelder Studio is a recording studio at 445 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, United States. Following the use of his parents' home at 25 Prospect Avenue, Hackensack, New Jersey, for the original studio, Rudy Van Gelder (1924 ...
in
Englewood Cliffs
Englewood Cliffs is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, whose population at the 2010 United States census was 5,281.[New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...]
. Hartman later said that each song was done in only one take, except for "
You Are Too Beautiful
You Are Too Beautiful is a 1932 song written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for the 1933 film ''Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (film), Hallelujah, I'm a Bum'', where it was sung by Al Jolson. It became a pop and jazz standard in the 1940s, with a notabl ...
", which required two takes because
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era.
Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...
dropped one of his drumsticks during the first take.
Jazz writer
Michael Cuscuna
Michael Cuscuna (born September 20, 1949 in Stamford, Connecticut, United States) is an American jazz record producer and writer. He is the co-founder of Mosaic Records and a discographer of Blue Note Records.
Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and ...
explains the speculation of two different versions of the album: "At a later date, Coltrane decided to overdub some additional obbligato saxophone phrases behind Hartman's vocals on 'My One and Only Love', 'Lush Life' and 'You Are Too Beautiful'. A new master was made by Rudy Van Gelder, who added some additional echo to the three tracks. Although the first release of the album used the original master without Coltrane's additional obbligatos, it was later substituted with the new master."
In 2005, the raw tapes were reviewed by jazz archivist
Barry Kernfeld, who documented there were actually complete alternate takes for all six songs that he considered "absolutely riveting." Until clear ownership of these tapes is established between the Coltrane family and Universal Music, there are no plans for their release.
Release and reception
The album was announced on July 6, 1963, in ''
Billboard.'' Bob Thiele produced it and
Impulse!
Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...
released it toward the end of the month. It has become a classic ballad jazz album, and the renditions of "
Lush Life", "
My One and Only Love
"My One and Only Love" is a 1953 popular song with music written by Guy Wood and lyrics by Robert Mellin.Gioia, T. (2012). ''The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire''. Oxford University Press. . pp. 284-285. Notable renditions by Frank Sina ...
", and "
They Say It's Wonderful "They Say It's Wonderful" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the musical '' Annie Get Your Gun'' (1946), where it was introduced by Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton. A film version in 1950 again featured the song when it was performed by ...
" are considered definitive.
[ Overview at Allmusic.">John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman > Overview at Allmusic./ref> Scott Yanow's five-star review for ]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
describes the album as "essential for all jazz collections".
Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. He sang in cho ...
recorded an album in 2009 '' Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman'' in tribute to ''John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman''.
Track listing
Personnel
*Johnny Hartman
John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer who specialized in ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. Hartman is best remembered for his ...
– vocals
*John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and raise ...
– tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...
*McCoy Tyner
Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...
– piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
* Jimmy Garrison – double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
*Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era.
Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...
– drums
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Coltrane And Johnny Hartman
1963 albums
John Coltrane albums
Johnny Hartman albums
Impulse! Records albums
Albums produced by Bob Thiele
Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients