Round Midnight - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1986)

Soundtrack to the 1986 film which starred saxophonist Dexter Gordon as an jazz musician and addict who finds acceptance in the jazz clubs of Paris in the 1950s. The album, put together by Herbie Hancock, consists of jazz standards and a few original tracks performed by an all-star group of musicians:

Soundtrack cuts not on this album are included on Dexter Gordon's 1986 companion album, The Other Side Of Round Midnight, which features the last recordings released under Gordon's name before his death in 1990.

For his work in the movie, Gordon was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, losing to Paul Newman for The Color Of Money. However, this soundtrack won the Oscar for Best Original Score for Hancock. Many people consider that Oscar win to be controversial as there isn't much original music in the film and it beat out the wonderful scores of Ennio Morricone (The Mission) and Jerry Goldsmith (Hoosiers). Maybe those two split the vote and allowed Round Midnight to sneak in? It's happened many times.

I found this CD in the clearance bin and wondered how a star-studded Oscar winner could end up in such a place and then I spun the thing. Simply put, it's just ok. There are some great performances to be found - Hancock is fantastic throughout - but Gordon was dealing with health issues during filming/recording and sadly doesn't sound like the Gordon I know from his historic albums Go! and Our Man In Paris.

Reviews/ratings:

• High Fidelity: "[Gordon's] tone is weak, his facility faulty, and his ideas serviceable yet never soaring"
• Billboard: "Mostly standards, with performances of varying quality"
• Stereo Review: "not the best Dexter Gordon album of recent years, nor is it hard to find more satisfying jazz albums"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #196
• Billboard Jazz: #7
• CashBox Jazz: #3
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #2

Tracks:

1. Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk, 1944) - could use a real trumpet player instead of Bobby McFerrin imitating a muted trumpet.
2. Body And Soul (Johnny Green, 1930) - great solo from McLaughlin
3. Bérangère's Nightmare (Herbie Hancock, 1986) - incidental music, not particularly interesting but certainly not a nightmare (see what I did there?)
4. Fair Weather (Kenny Dorham, ca. 1964) - Not only was I surprised by Chet Baker's vocals, I was moved by them. One of the best cuts on the album.
5. Una Noche Con Francis (Bud Powell, 1964)
6. The Peacocks (Jimmy Rowles, 1975) - a tasty ballad featuring Wayne Shorter and an elegant solo from Hancock
7. How Long Has This Been Going On? (Ira & George Gershwin, 1927) - In which Lonette McKee does her best Billie Holiday imitation and succeeds
8. Rhythm-A-Ning (Monk, 1957) - Another choice cut. Wow does this thing swing - what a band!
9. Still Time (Hancock, 1986) - a great last-call melancholy ballad from Hancock. I'd bet it fit the scene perfectly.
10. Minuit Aux Champs-Elysées (Henri Renaud, 1969) - just Hancock on piano and the great Bobby Hutcherson on vibes. They play off each other perfectly.
11. Chan's Song (Never Said) (Hancock, Stevie Wonder, 1986) - McFerrin's wordless vocals on a pop piece that would be noticeably anachronistic in a period film such as this. A bizarre way to end the album.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. I don't recall ever seeing the film and it's not currently available on any legal streaming service (very few films released in the 20th century are available via streaming, but that complaint/frustration/discussion/argument is beyond the scope of this blog); however, I see that there's a new Criterion Collection Blu-ray release available.