This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
COME-ON: Sophistication is always sexy. At least, it is when you’re talking about Johnny Hartman. The butterscotch-voiced vocalist cut one of the best romantic-ballad albums of all time — the 1963 masterpiece John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. This set offers two numbers from that disc — lush, lazy versions of You Are Too Beautiful and My One And Only Love — along with nine other smooth-jazz gems so seductive they oughta be available by prescription.
TURN-ONS: Hartman’s take on Unforgettable, with its quivering strings and tinkly piano, could rival Nat King Cole. And his versions of I Just Dropped By To Say Hello and Duke Ellington’s Don’t You Know I Care (Or Don’t You Care to Know) are close to definitive.
TURN-OFFS: Good as this disc is, it can’t compare with the Coltrane and Hartman set. Buy that first.
GOES WITH: Evening wear, velvet gloves, expensive champagne, chocolate mousse, scented candles, rose petals.
