JOHNNY HARTMAN - Four Classic Albums Plus (Just You, Just Me / All Of Me: The Debonair Mr Hartman / Songs From The Heart / And I Thought About You) (2CD)

AVID Jazz continues with its Four Classic Album series with a re-mastered 2CD release from Johnny Hartman complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details.
“Just You, Just Me”; “All Of Me: The Debonair Mr. Hartman”; “Songs From The Heart” and “And I Thought About You” plus nine bonus tracks.
In the AVID tradition of releasing albums not only by the big and famous names in jazz but also the not so big and famous names, but none the less great artists and fully worthy of your attention, we welcome to the AVID catalogue an incredible jazz singer by the name of Johnny Hartman. Born in Louisiana in 1923, Hartman was a baritone singer who became known primarily as a jazz ballad singer. Although as you will discover when you listen to our selected albums, he could also swing with the best of them. Following early stints with Earl Hines, Dizzy Gillespie and Errol Garner, Johnny went solo in 1950 and five years later released his first proper album “Songs From The Heart” which featured Howard McGhee on trumpet and Tony Bennett’s piano player, Ralph Sharon at the ivories. Just a quick run through of some of the fine jazz men who played alongside Johnny would have to include the following - Lucky Thompson, Jerome Richardson, Ernie Royal, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson, Ernie Wilkins, Frank Rehak and Hank Jones. It’s also worth noting when trying to assess the talent of Johnny Hartman that not long after recording the last album in our set he was teaming up with none other than John Coltrane for what would be Trane’s only album with a singer. Trane’s thoughts were summed up in the following quote, “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”. Word had it that Coltrane was keen to record another album with Johnny but sadly that never happened. Perhaps also worth noting for any Andrew Hill fans is our four bonus tracks on CD2 featuring Johnny with the great and much missed pianist in a live setting in St. Louis from 1961.
Check out:- Jerome Richardson (AMSC1195); Hank Jones (AMSC1253); Mel Torme (AMSC1317); Tony Bennett (AMSC1399 & 1391); Joe Williams (AMSC1389); Ray Charles (AMSC1276 & 1233); Jon Hendricks (AMSC1342); Billy Eckstine (AMSC1131); Ralph Sharon Trio (AVC863 & 862); Billie Holiday (AMSC13290); Ernestine Anderson (AMSC1170); Nat King Cole (AMSC1303).

CD1
1-10: ‘Just You, Just Me’
1. Tormented (Why Must I Be)
2. What’s To Become Of Me?
3. Just You, Just Me
4. A Woman Always Understands
5. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
6. I’ll Never Smile Again
7. Just A Wearyin’ For You
8. Why Was I Born?
9. Sometime Remind Me To Tell You
10. There Goes My Heart
11. I Should Care (Bonus Track)
12. That Old Black Magic (Bonus Track)
13. Close Your Eyes (Bonus Track)
14. S’Posin’ (Bonus Track)
15. September In The Rain (Bonus Track)
16-27: ‘All Of Me: The Debonair Mr. Hartman’
16. Blue Skies
17. I Could Make You Care
18. Tenderly
19. The Lamp Is Low
20. While We’re Young
21. Birth Of The Blues
22. I’ll Follow You
23. I Concentrate On You
24. Stella By Starlight
25. I Get A Kick Out Of You
26. The End Of A Love Affair
27. All Of Me

CD2
1-12: ‘Songs From The Heart’
1. What Is There To Say
2. Ain’t Misbehavin’
3. I Fall In Love Too Easily
4. We’ll Be Together Again
5. Down In The Depths
6. They Didn’t Believe Me
7. I’m Glad There’s You
8. When Your Lover Has Gone
9. I’ll Remember April
10. I See Your Face Before Me
11. September Song
12. Moonlight In Vermont
13-24: ‘And I Thought About You’
13. Mam’selle
14. To Each His Own
15. Sunday
16. Alone
17. Long Ago & Far Away
18. I Should Care
19. Little Girl Blue
20. But Beautiful
21. After You’ve Gone
22. There’s A Lull In My Life
23. How Long Has This Been Going On
24. I Thought About You
25. Somebody Loves Me (Bonus Track)
26. Stella By Starlight (Bonus Track)
27. You Came A Long Way From St. Louis (Bonus Track)
28. Misty (Bonus Track)