Some jazz vocalists build their rep on intrepid loop-de-loops which parallel the athletic solos of instrumentalists. Others have a way of easing into a situation, and working toward an emotional tone so deep that, once established, it seems like a narcotic. Johnny Hartman is part of this second group, a singer of ballads and standards so adept at establishing and sustaining a pervasive mood, he can make everything outside the musical moment seem trivial. Listening to his baritone,  one of  jazz’s  most  assured  "instruments,"  is  like  wrapping yourself in a huge mink coat. Hartman never achieved the high visibility status

that some other male jazz vocalists did, but he surely spent time with players from the music’s upper echelon. Though categorized as a crooner (a bit of a put-down to your usual jazzer) the Chicago native did time in the 1940's with Earl Hines, Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band (where he learned to stand his ground and let projection be his protection) and Perez Prado’s large ensemble.
   Trios are the usual setting for jazz singers, and Hartman also worked with pianist Erroll Garner’s threesome for a while. But it was the unlikely pairing with John Coltrane that brought out the luxuriant sound of the singer’s best work in 1963.
   The collaboration seemed unlikely because Coltrane was then being heralded for his intrepid and earnest investigations. In comparison. Hartman was much more lighthearted, though no less committed to his work. With plenty of space left open for the singer’s skilled phrasing, the music had a hypnotic quality - Hartman was always able to enhance the explicit emotions of a lyric. Coltrane had been playing ballads for months before their collaboration, and his refined style was nothing short of elegant.