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Not enough about him on-line.
You have to hunt for it.
Unbelievable! The Great Johnny Hartman.
NO...Not the banjo player who wrote: Gentle On My Mind
Or some kid who caught a 14 inch Smallie while fishing with his father.
...found them right away.
(I was cyber-googling and shaking my head)
Hartman, the singer, is the one I mean.
Billy Collins knows him!
No...not the British painter...
The Irish Poet from Jackson Heights...
And, by the way:
Never leave a burning butt on a baby grand piano*.
It's disrespectful.
My Hartman was a poet of song....
Ella loved him...need more? You really shouldn't.
Coltrane said: "There was something about his voice."
Yes, maestro. Yes sir.
It could vibrate from the baseboard of your soul,
As all good woofers do,
Against the thick wooden walls of your music layer
And push you down and therefore...
Up and make you swoon.
It could swing, sigh, cry, fly
And eloquently wonder why...
While punctuating phrases with plunging bassnotes
That scrape the bottom in perfect pitch
Then, leap back lightly to 1
To expose the next idea.
Try it, sometime.
Singing as well as Johnny Hartman, that is.
It's damn near impossible.
*This references the poem Nightclub by Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate
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John Maurice Hartman
July 3, 1923 - September 15, 1983
Occupation: Musician
Instrument: Voice
Born in Chicago, IL...he received a scholarship to the Chicago Musical College at age sixteen. In the 1940's, after performing for U.S. Army Special Services, he began his professional career with Earl Hines and recorded for Regent/Savoy. In 1947, Hartman spent 2 years with the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band and produced a few sides for Mercury.
Partial Discography:
- 1956 Songs From The Heart (Bethlehem)
- 1956 All Of Me (Bethlehem)
- 1963 Johnny Hartman & John Coltrane (Impulse)
- 1963 Just Dropped By To Say Hello (Impulse)
- 1964 The Voice That Is (Impulse)
- 1980 Once In Every Life (Bee Hive) Grammy Nomination
One of Hartman's biographers asserts "he was never the most distinctive vocalist." In response to this...I wish to opine that the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is not a particularly good paint job. (T. Smith)
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