About

- A TAV Essential Listening Album -

A seminal 1963 collaboration between the sublime tenor saxophone of the legendary John Coltrane and the smoky-hued baritone of Johnny Hartman's voice. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs studio in New Jersey alongside pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones - Hartman and Coltrane proceeded to craft one of the lushest and most poignant ballad albums ever to grace the American jazz cannon.

Featuring six subtle yet vividly dramatised renditions of classics such as “My One and Only Love” and “Lush Life”, this dreamy and romantic 31-minute collection is a prized jewel on Impulse! Records’ impressive catalogue. A superb album of lyrical beauty and sophisticated melodies that continues to leave an indelible mark over a half century later. - The Analog Vault

The Sublime Sophistication Of John Coltrane And Johnny Hartman - The duo made a lush, poignant album that remains a high point in both artists’ careers.

On March 7, 1963, John Coltrane made one of his most lush and poignant albums, it was one on which he shared center stage, not with another instrumentalist but unusually with a singer. The singer was 40-year-old Johnny Hartman whose debut recording was Songs from the Heart, recorded with a quintet for Bethlehem Records released in 1955. When they arrived at the studio they had no charts, no prior arrangements worked out, this recording of John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman was without a net, but then again all the musicians knew these songs by heart.

The record the two of them made together was released on the impulse! label later in the year and it stands as one of the finest records by Coltrane, a record of lyrical beauty that is simply one of the greatest albums in the jazz canon. Johnny Hartman’s baritone voice blends perfectly with Coltrane’s tenor sax that is the vocal extension of the saxophonist’s earlier Ballad’s album. “Lush Life,” was a last minute addition to the album, after they heard Nat King Cole’s version on the way to the studio. It’s a song that says everything about this pairing. - Richard Havers

John Coltrane's matchup with singer Johnny Hartman, although quite unexpected, works extremely well. Hartman was in prime form on the six ballads, and his versions of "Lush Life" and "My One and Only Love" have never been topped. 

Coltrane's playing throughout the session is beautiful, sympathetic, and still exploratory; he sticks exclusively to tenor on the date. At only half an hour, one wishes there were twice as much music, but what is here is classic, essential for all jazz collections. - Scott Yannow // AllMusic