Johnny Hartman - For Trane (1995)
Louisianian jazz vocalist Johnny Hartman found himself familiar with the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane during the former part of his career, ever since Coltrane found himself enamored with Hartman's 1950 performance at the Apollo Theater in Manhattan. Thirteen years later and per Coltrane's request the two joined forces for a collaborative album, titled simply
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, which was released in July 1963. The album, recorded solely on March 7, 1963 in almost all one take, was met with acclaim across the board. It was considered "essential" my most critics and audiences, and earned a Grammy HOF induction in 2013.
Coltrane unfortunately died only four years after the said album’s release, leaving Hartman and his’ collaboration to be a one-off evermore. Hartman’s career continued, during which he often paid tribute to his friend by covering his “favorite” tunes.
For Trane was a compilation released in 1995, which collected tracks from both 1973’s
Hartman Sings Trane’s Favorites and also
Hartman Meets Hino, a collaboration with fusion trumpeter Terumasa Hino, from the same year. It too followed Hartman’s death in ‘83, making it essentially a short corpus of musical letters from one dead man to another. Nah, just kidding. It’s more likely an unashamed Blue Note cash grab, but it’s nice to be optimistic once in awhile.
As for the CD’s actual quality, Hartman does a great job bringing an emotionally charged performance to the 11 standards at play here. Some are better than others, like the cover of Davis’ ‘On Green Street’ and Andy Razaf’s (originally recorded by Sinatra) ‘S’posin’’. Hartman shines on these energetic tracks quite well, but ultimately the man’s a crooner through-and-through. ‘Why Did I Choose You’, a cover of the Marvin Gaye tune, does particularly well in this regard. Hartman’s baritone rumble mixed with his Houma drawl makes for an excellent smoky duo, and when he croons, he soars. The best track overall, in my opinion, has to be his cover of the iconic Sound of Music number ‘My Favorite Things’.
SALVAGEABILITY: Coltrane liked Hartman for a reason, I suppose.
SALVAGEABLE.