Results for "Johnny Hartman"

Johnny Hartman

John Maurice Hartman was a critically acclaimed baritone jazz singer who specialized in ballads. Born in Louisiana but raised in Chicago, he began singing and playing the piano by age eight. In 1940, Hartman graduated from DuSable High School where he studied music under Walter Dyett before receiving a scholarship to Chicago Musical College. He sang as an Army private during WWII but his first professional work came in September 1946 when he won a singing contest awarding him a one-week engagement with Earl Hines at Chicago's El Grotto nightclub. Seeing potential in the singer, Hines hired him for the next year

Impulse! Records: An Alternative Top 20 Zeitgeist Seizing Albums

By CHRIS MAY

There can be little argument that a jazz label ever captured a zeitgeist more completely than Impulse! did during its original 1960s incarnation. In the US, the fight back against white racism was cresting, opposition to the Vietnam war was growing, outrage over the assassinations of figures of hope such as President Kennedy, Martin Luther King ...

John Coltrane - The Final Act (1961 - 1967)

By RUSSELL PERRY

John Coltrane is undoubtedly one of the most influential players in the history of jazz, yet his important work fits within a brief twelve-year period (1955—1967). Previously in this series we have covered his work in the 1950s with Miles Davis for Prestige and Columbia, his blowing sessions on Prestige, his solo work with Blue Note ...

Hive Finds

By PATRICK BURNETTE

In the late seventies and early eighties, Susan and Jim Neumann helped keep the be-bop flame burning by starting the boutique Beehive Records label. They featured middle-aged boppers left behind by fusion frenzy who just wanted to record some solid blowing dates—and one semi-forgotten vocalist who made his final great recording for the label... and captured ...

Meet Andrew Rothman

By TESSA SOUTER AND ANDREA WOLPER

Lawyer, audiophile, lifelong arts enthusiast, our newest Super Fan's life plan was to be a classical pianist, until college took him in another direction. But it was two “major epiphanies" (the first time he heard Miles Davis and, later, Bill Evans) that turned him into a jazz Super Fan--such a Super Fan, in fact, that he ...

Take Five with Jeff Lofton

By JEFF LOFTON

About Jeff Lofton Jazz trumpeter and composer Jeff Lofton is a Grammy member and two time SXSW Austin Music Awards winner. His creativity, musical integrity and talent has been well-received in both his 1950's Miles Davis tribute as well as his original material. In 2009 the City of jny: Austin proclaimed January 15th “Jeff ...

A Musical Tribute To Caffeine

By H WILLIAM STINE

Caffeine—voted the #3 most popular way to stay awake during my show—right after thinking of words that rhyme with “constellation" and reliving your latest root canal (I'll let you figure out the order). Two hours of songs about coffee and tea and the singers who enjoy them, plus, to sweeten the cup, I've tossed in several ...

July Jazz Birthdays

By MARC COHN

Celebrate and give thanks for these jazz voices—honored in this month of their births. Playlist Junior Cook “Illusion of Grandeur" from Somethin's Cookin' (Muse) 00:00 Cal Tjader “Mood For Milt" from Latin Concert (Fantasy) 09:25 Cal Tjader “Cubano Chant" from Latin Concert (Fantasy) 13:49 Don Patterson “S'Bout Time" from The Exciting New Organ ...

2018: The Year in Jazz

By KEN FRANCKLING

The year 2018 was a busy one for the jazz world. The genre's version of the #MeToo movement resulted in a new Code of Conduct and other efforts to make the music workplace more equitable. International Jazz Day brought its biggest stage to St. Petersburg, Russia. The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, which ran a high-profile ...

Mike Thornton

Mike Thornton blends traditional classic jazz standards with a passion for performing works by live, contemporary composers. Mike is following the footsteps of giants of vocal jazz by interpreting a new generation of jazz artists. Performing on stages across the U.S. over his career, Mike has dedicated his life to being an ever-evolving musician. Mike is a vocalist, musical director, actor, nationally-known political satirist, director and producer. Before launching his professional career as a singer (and actor), he attended Hartt School of Music, where he studied voice and music education and had the opportunity to study with the great Jackie McLean. During his days in NYC, Mike’s Jazz Quartet played clubs like the 55 Bar, Arthur’s Tavern, Cleopatra’s Needle, The Garage, Red Blazer, Augie’s, and Torch. In the Washington D.C