Artist Features
John Hart Releases New Album, Love Is
JGT’s Joe Barth talks to guitarist John Hart about his new album, Love Is.
John Hart has been active on the jazz scene for over thirty years. After years of working in the New York area, he is now chair of the Jazz Guitar department at the University of Miami. He has been a featured artist on both the Blue Note and Concord record labels, with seventeen albums to his name, and has appeared as a sideman on over 100 other albums. He has just released his new album Love Is.
JB: So, before I ask about the new album, tell me about yourself. You were born in Virginia and moved to Florida, where you graduated from high school and attended the University of Miami. When did you start to play jazz guitar, and in those early years, what was most helpful in your personal development as a guitarist?
JH: I started playing the guitar when I was 1twelve. I played rock guitar initially and was influenced by the Allman Brothers, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, etc. Jeff Beck’s records Blow by Blow and Wired were veering towards jazz. I had an epiphany hearing Miles Davis playing “It Ain’t Necessarily So” from Porgy and Bess, and from that point on, I was pretty hardcore in regards to becoming a jazz musician. I had an excellent band director and guitar teacher in Sarasota which
helped also.
JB: What are three of the most influential jazz guitar albums to you and your personal development as a guitarist, and why?
JH: Wes Montgomery Smokin’ at the Half Note: What can I say? “No Blues.” Everything from single-note bop to big band shout choruses is joyful
and swinging! The guitar solo on “If You Could See Me Now” is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest of all time.
Next, Jim Hall Live – This album did for the guitar trio what Bill Evans’ landmark recordings with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian did for the piano trio. It illuminated the pathway for a whole new way of playing. For me, “I Hear a Rhapsody” is the highlight and a masterclass in musical dialogue and group interaction.
Then, Grant Green Talkin’ About – One of a series of albums Grant did with Larry Young and Elvin Jones, and the only one that is just a trio. Grant plays so little in terms of the number of notes and yet is able to create excitement that keeps you on the edge of your seat. And the “Softly as in a Morning Sunrise” quote on “Talkin’ About JC”! I’ve listened to it countless times, and it’s still a surprise.
JB: How long did you live in New York City, and what did you appreciate about your years there?
JH: I lived there for 30 years before moving to Miami to teach. I’m still back and forth playing in New York a lot. For me, NYC is the only place for any jazz player who is serious about taking their playing to the next level. The experiences and opportunities I had there are irreplaceable. And the music community is unlike anywhere else in the world, both in breadth and like-mindedness. You are
challenged every day by the greatest players in the world. But I have to say, the weather in Miami is a lot better!
JB: I know you are in South Florida to teach at the University of Miami. Talk about your performance career and the type of gigs you play now?
JH: I’m focused mostly on teaching in Miami. I play a few gigs, often with one of my sons, Sam Hart, who’s an excellent drummer. I’ve been traveling around the country with another son, pianist Jake Hart. He books us as a double bill with Jake playing solo piano and me playing with a trio. We played 18 dates last year. I’m also back in forth a lot to New York playing with my friends and colleagues from the last 30 years. And of course, I’ve been recording consistently, both as a leader and as a sideman.
JB: On your new album, Love Is, I love your renditions of Bud Powell’s “Hallucination” and Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing.” What drew you to these two songs?
JH: When I’m recording, I’m always thinking about balance and trying to create different moods and emotions through song selections. Both tunes were fairly new for me. I always loved the Bud Powell composition and thought it would be a great vehicle for guitar and cornet unison. I’ve recorded two or three Strayhorn tunes on other records and decided to tackle Flower. They’re all unique
Compositions, but also immediately identifiable as Billy Strayhorn. I’ve been playing this song a lot on gigs lately.
JB: Briefly reflect upon the three selections that you composed for this recording.
JH: These were written specifically for this session and instrumentation. “Love Is” is based on the form of “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” a song that I’ve always loved. For “Infamy” I was looking for something very sparse and angular for the guitar and cornet, with the bass active underneath. It’s a blues, with the head a little disguised. “Lazy Thirds” used John Coltrane’s “Lazy Bird” as a model. It’s got some tricky chord changes!
JB: I love the cornet with the guitar ostinato thing you do on the classic “Blue in Green.” Talk about how that arrangement came about.
JH: Living in Florida, I ride my bike every day. I often come up with ideas for songs or arrangements. When I get home, I’ll play the idea into a voice memo so I don’t forget it. I started singing the 5/4 ostinato in my head and got the idea to put the melody of “Blue and Green” against it. Often in arrangements or reharmonizations, I’m trying to combine standard repertoire with my own
compositional style.
JB: I can’t ask about every song, but what drew you to Evans and Livingston’s ”Never Let Me Go” and Jimmy Van Heusen’s “I Thought About You” to basically end the album with?
JH: “Never Let Me Go” I had played a little, and I recorded it with a vocalist a few years back. It was written in 1956, but it sounds like it could have been written in the 1960s. One of the newer standards. Again, I thought it would fit well in the program. I was working with one of my students on Miles Davis repertoire, and “I Thought About You” kept popping up. I’ve been playing the song for years, both instrumentally and with singers. It’s the last thing recorded that day and closes out the album.
JB: The sound of the cornet, guitar, and bass is refreshing. What do you appreciate most about bassist Carlo Derosa and trumpeter Kirk Knuffke?
JH: This project was the idea of record producer Nils Winther. I had never played with Kirk. I listened to some of his music and really loved his sound. Carlo and I met when he first moved to New York in the ’90s. We reconnected recently when Carlo came to Miami to work on a doctoral degree at the University of Miami. He was my first choice for this; he’s very supportive and has prodigious solo chops. Kirk listens so well that when we met for the rehearsal the day before, I felt like we’d been playing together for 20 years.
JB: What do you appreciate most about the Gibson ES 175 guitar you play?
JH: My main ES 175 is a guitar I got brand new when I was 15 years old. I’ve played it on so many gigs and recordings that it’s a valued possession. I try not to fly with it anymore, although I did bring it up to New York for a new trio record I recorded in February. I’ve been playing a few other
guitars and on Love Is I played a blonde 335 that I’ve been playing since 1990. The 175 is plywood and short-scale. There is something about the purity of the tone from the plywood guitar. The sound is fat but not colored by the wood. And it’s easier to play loud on a gig.
JB: In addition to your teaching, any new projects coming up?JH: I recorded a trio record with my longtime bandmates Bill Moring on bass and Tim Horner on drums that should be out early 2026. It’s the fifth record we’ve done as a trio. I’m almost playing with one of my oldest friends and colleagues, drummer Steve Johns, and his band Mythology. We’re recording a new record for Steeplechase in October. Gigs in New York also with the David Bixler Quintet and another series of concerts with my son Jake in September.
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