ROUND MIDNIGHT (OST)

Compared to the avant-garde tour-de-force soundtracks that Herbie Hancock produced in the 70s, Round Midnight is a bit of a disappointment, but it is still worth a listen if you want to hear traditional jazz modernized just a bit by the top jazz and fusion players of the mid-80s.

At least five of the songs on this album feature Herbie in a variety of settings playing his distinct brand of sensitive quasi-abstract piano that sounds more like French neo-classical chamber music than traditional jazz. His duet with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson is particularly nice. Two other tunes on this album veer into more aggressive free-for-alls as Freddie Hubbard leads with his blasting trumpet on Rhythm-a-ning, and Dexter Gordon battles Wayne Shorter on Una Noche con Francis.

The rest of the album includes an OK jazz vocal ballad sung by Lonette McKee and two numbers featuring bizarro vocalist Bobby McFerrin imitating a mute trumpet. Mostly the music on this album is designed to provide a somber and slightly sentimental setting for the bitter sweet tale of a pro jazz musician and his melancholic life style.