Johnny Hartman All of me

Ballad singer Johnny Hartman's third and final Impulse session is not quite on the same level as the first two. Although the earlier of the two sessions has several near-classic performances (including "My Ship," "Waltz for Debby," and "It Never Entered My Mind"), the second date has weaker material, primarily several songs from movies or shows, including "Sunrise, Sunset." Hartman is in fine form whether backed by the Hank Jones quartet or accompanied by an octet arranged by pianist Bob Hammer.

As the latest edition in its For Lovers series, Verve issues this stellar collection of cuts by "the Voice" himself, Johnny Hartman. Indeed, given the nature of Hartman's significant – and even singular contribution – to the art of the ballad, it's a wonder that the label didn't issue one before now.

Most jazz fans know Johnny Hartman from the famous album he recorded with John Coltrane in the early '60s. However, the singer had an illustrious career prior to that, recording for a variety of labels including Bethlehem, which released this album for the first time in 1956, six years before the Coltrane session. Of all Hartman's earlier albums, Songs from the Heart is the best place to start. It features the crooner fronting a small band, which gives the proceedings a more intimate ambience than Hartman's forays as a big-band singer (with Dizzy Gillespie, among others). The small ensemble suits Hartman's romantic melancholia perfectly; the album is like one long sob. His smoky baritone fits the mood, and the band follows in suit with some tender but evocative stylings. Considering pianist Ralph Sharon has backed up Tony Bennett for decades, it's not surprising to find in his early work an elegant smoothness. Consisting mostly of standards like "Ain't Misbehavin'," "I Fall in Love Too Easily," and "I'll Remember April," this is the perfect album for pouring a good stiff drink and drowning one's sorrows (especially on a cold winter night). A stand-out track is "Down in the Depths," where Hartman gets carried away, and apparently so does the band: the tangling between bassist Jay Cave and Sharon is the most exciting moment on the album.

Collection of 30 CDs on various styles (Love, Movies, R&B, Country, World and Rock). Although you may find the collection a bit outdated since the release is from 2001, it contains some great songs… so enjoy.

The resulting 2 box set, unlike any other available today, groups together the main vocalists in the story of jazz from the first half of the 20th century. Each of these 20 CDs offers in more or less the same proportion, the purest of African-American song with gospel and blues singers, from truculent Ma Rainey to majestic Bessie Smith, sophisticated Sarah Vaughan to popular Louis Prima, the folk-related tones of Charlie Patton to the honeyed voice of Frank Sinatra.