A beautiful tribute to the historic pairing of John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman – delivered here by one of our favorite jazz singers working today! The album's way more than just a simple rehash of a classic – as
Kurt Elling expands upon the Coltrane/
Hartman vibe tremendously, taking the music into even loftier territory with his own wonderful vocals, and creative presentation of the music that includes a few medley moments, and some great spoken bits to link the whole thing together! Musical arrangements are by Laurence Hobgood, who's been with
Elling for years – and Hobgood really stretches out with his own energy here, to break the set past any easy cliches, and make it a really
Elling-centrist effort that stands as one of
Kurt's best records in years. The whole thing was recorded live, and titles include "Say It", "They Say It's Wonderful", "It's Easy To Remember", "Dedicated To You", "All Or Nothing At All", "You Are Too Beautiful", and a medley of "What's New/
Lush Life/
Autumn Serenade".