Friday, August 21, 2009

John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, Impulse


I routinely pass over this when flipping through my Coltrane thinking I just won't be able to get into it. Then, I'll pull it out for one reason or another and remember how wrong I was skipping it all those times before. Yes, it is one of those "What were they thinking?" ideas pairing the tenor and the torchy singer. But I'm glad they thought of it.

On this trip through, it struck me what a near-perfect performance My One and Only Love was, from Coltrane's wonderful solo leading into Hartman's singing to Coltrane's uncanny comping behind Hartman to the subtle, note-perfect backing of McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. One more reason (as if A Love Supreme, Crescent, et al, were not enough) this Coltrane quartet is legendary.

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