Complete Regent Recordings (Bonus Track Version)

The release of this retrospective of songs recorded for Regent by jazz vocalist Johnny Hartman probably owes a lot to Clint Eastwood's film The Bridges of Madison County. Hartman's smooth voice is heard throughout the soundtrack, and many listeners became latter-day fans of this popular singer from the 1950s and '60s. Hartman is best known for his work with jazz giant John Coltrane on their classic CD on Impulse: John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman, recorded in 1963. But Hartman recorded with many other great jazz luminaries of his day, and much of that work appears on this compilation. The CD features Hartman crooning with an astonishing array of musicians: Dizzie Gillespie, Prez Prado, Budd Johnson, Errol Garner,Cozy Cole, Jimmy Nottingham, Tony Farina, and Bobby Tucker, to name a few. The CD includes material recorded in 1947 through 1954, plus some bonus tracks recorded live in 1961 with the Andrew Hill Trio. Hartman, a master at interpreting the inner life of a ballad, comes through soft and clear on standards such as "That Old Black Magic," "I Let a Song Go out of My Heart," "I'll Never Smile Again," "Just You, Just Me," "September in the Rain," "Stella by Starlight," and "Somebody Loves Me." The amorous and sophisticated tone of the entire set is polished off with the final selection, "Misty," which expresses how the listener might feel after hearing so many songs of romance and seduction.