Got Jeff? Jeff Hartman is an award-winning actor/director and Artistic Director for Hickory Arts. ASU alumnus—Advertising/Theater/Music. Teaching/touring professionally since 1992. Private Study since 1983. Jeff is available at Hickory Arts for Voice, Acting, Artist Development, Songwriting/Publishing, Audition Prep, Beginner Piano & Guitar, and Self-Accompaniment. jshartman.com
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Many distinct music personalities yield a single sound; sometimes rock, sometimes pop, sometimes jazz, sometimes folk, other times funk, with soaring vocals laced together with melodies that never leave you. Nevertheless, it can only be described as Jeff Hartman’s eclectic blend. In the tradition of Bruce Hornsby and Dave Matthews, Jeff carved out an impressive place for himself on the live music circuit, having appeared with a variety of musicians in a variety of ways approximately 200 dates yearly for more than two decades.

Hartman was honored by The National Library of Poetry and became a published author in 1992 with a revelational piece of poetry called “Hands,” subsequently collected and released as “The Sound of Poetry” in audiobook, also in 1992. By 1996 he was making a living as a professional actor and musician, music directing theater productions, touring regionally and recording with a variety of groups, sharing stages with Molly Hatchet and Georgia Satellites.

To date, Jeff’s most notably appeared on stage or screen with James Best (Dukes of Hazzard), Norma Frank (Fear Strikes Out), Amy Irving (Carrie), Jarrod Emick, Frederic Forrest, Ted Marcoux, Cliff De Young & Jan Triska (Andersonville), Jason Hatfield (The Conspirator, Homeland), Universal recording artist Natalie, Steely Dan, Michael McDonald, the Allman Bros. Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Arrested Development, Jupiter Coyote, Acoustic Syndicate, The Recipe, Wil Seabrook, Will Hoge, Strictly Clean & Decent, Ray Whisnant, Cowboy Mouth, Breakfast Club, Hootie & The Blowfish and Eric Church.

Behind the scenes, Hartman has been producing, engineering, and publishing for artists and professionals since 1996, notably the original score for “Uncommon” with Erik Estrada; Audio Operator for VIMBY, including an interview with Dr. Maya Angelou for History Channel’s “The Bible” Miniseries from “Survivor” Producer, Mark Burnett.

As of 2022, Jeff has written, contributed to, and released dozens of albums, studio and live, two film soundtracks, and has composed music for three stage musicals. Two he orchestrated in collaboration with “Hannah Montana: The Movie” orchestrator, Mark Johnson, later recorded by the 45-piece Immanuel Bible Church Orchestra, near Washington, DC.

Jeff’s music is available internationally on most popular digital music platforms, including Spotify, Amazon.com, and iTunes. It has appeared in film and television, featured on ESPN, and alongside Grammy winners Avalon, Phil Driscoll, and Jason Crabb.

Other projects include Hartman, Jeff Hartman & The Other Brothers, Jeff Hartman Trio, Jeff Hartman & Friends, Hipshack, Scott Jeffrey’s Band, Thunder Bay, Southern Storm, JDM Trio, Deep End, and various orchestras.

“Hartman” is a faith-based combo featuring singer/songwriters Jeff & Carol Anne Hartman. Jeff & Carol Anne have been performing together and leading worship among other things for as long as they can remember. Well known for their unaffiliated “Worship Without Walls,” Jeff has been performing with his wife and bands for almost two decades across the country, exemplified by the album, “Better Live,” celebrating their first decade together with live, original tracks from Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre to The CoMMA.

Carol Anne and Jeff met on stage in the spring of ’96 and soon fell in love during the fall production of “The Fantasticks” at The Green Room, a theatre in Newton, North Carolina. Jeff asked for Carol’s hand in marriage with the cloak and dagger help of friends and family on the second Saturday in September of ’99 and wed one year later on September 9, 2000. The ceremony was held on stage in the Charles E. Jeffers Theatre in Hickory, NC. They have three children Jeff considers his biggest challenge and greatest accomplishment.

In 2005, prior to the unexpected death of friend, engineer, and producer, David Black, and during production on what would later be known as “More (The Black Album),” Hartman was vetted by a representative for Virgin Records through a close friend of the family. Prerequisites for contract negotiations included a non-disclosure agreement, relocation to Nashville, use of label-contracted musicians only, surrendering a substantial share of publishing rights, re-branding/name change, relinquishing all in-progress work on The Black Album, and returning to a radio-friendly, acoustic-driven 3:30-songwriting model. Jeff’s dedication to his family and musicians, one and the same, David, the album, and their direction were non-negotiable. It was a lesson in love, loyalty, and ethics that would exemplify the way he chooses to live his life and manage his career.

In 2009, Jeff and the band had the privilege of performing for Supreme Court Justice Alito & accompanying Secret Service at The Lafayette Room of the Hay-Adams across the street from The White House.

Jeff and Carol Anne helped found Down to Hear Studios in Hickory, NC with renowned Down to Hear record producers David and Michael French in 2010 in an effort to challenge the impersonal, quantity over quality teaching and studio culture and supplement the artistic needs of developing artists and organizations in the surrounding area. The studio relocated closer to Union Square in 2011 as Hickory Arts.

Hartman has segued from a person of the arts to a person for the arts. Now-Hickory Arts Artistic Director, Jeff was surprised on Thursday, June 18, 2015, with a Paul Harris Fellowship, as approved by the Rotary Club of Hickory Board of Directors—nominated by Rotarian John Rambo, Hickory Theatre.