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Artist
Johnny Hartman
12+ albums
jazzvocal jazzmale vocalistsjazz vocalcrooner
about
John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer who specialized in ballads 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 and recorded with Erroll Garner. Most of Hartman's career was spent recording solo albums. Born in Louisiana, but raised in Chicago, Hartman began singing and playing the piano by the age of eight. He 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
top songs
albums
I Just Dropped By To Say Hello
Songs from the Heart (Remastered 2013)
The Voice That Is!
Unforgettable
John Coltrane And Johnny Hartman
The Complete Gus Wildi Recordings
Hartman For Lovers
Complete Regent Recordings (Bonus Track Version)
Unforgettable Songs
Songs from the Heart
For Trane
And I Thought About You