Johnny Hartman 

 I Just Dropped By to Say Hello

Impulse; 1963

The relatively unknown Hartman was, for my money, the best male jazz vocalist of the ’60s. What he lacked in bravado (Sinatra took care of that) and inventiveness (Sinatra took care of that, too), he more than made up for with feeling and immaculate intonation and phrasing. I Just Dropped By was the first of a series of solo albums spawned by the success of his famous recording with Trane, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, which is an essential for the heartfelt, groundbreaking renditions of classics like “Lush Life” and “They Say It’s Wonderful.” On the promise suggested by that album, I Just Dropped By delivers one-hundred fold and proved Hartman could still take on standards “In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning” and “Stairway to the Stars” and make them all his own.

by T. Bennison

This item previously appeared in The Beachside Resident.