Rare Hartman music finally makes it to CD
Steve Emerine | Tucson, AZ United States | 03/24/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is a must for any Johnny Hartman fan. Its 15 songs provide 73 minutes of wonderful music he recorded in Tokyo in November and December of 1972 when he was in his musical prime. Eleven of the tunes were released by Blue Note a few years ago under the title "For Trane" in a salute to saxophonist John Coltrane, who teamed up with Hartman for one of the finest sax-vocal albums of the last century. As far as I know, the other six songs on this CD are new to this format. And while pianists Masahiro Kikuchi or Mikio Masuda may not be as well known to you as McCoy Tyner, they and their Japanese colleagues do a fine job on this album of Hartman singing with small jazz combos. I guarantee you'll play it a lot after you buy it."