Round Midnight (soundtrack)

Round Midnight is a soundtrack album by Herbie Hancock featuring music recorded for Bertrand Tavernier's film Round Midnight released in 1986 on Columbia Records. The album features performances by Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Bobby McFerrin, Dexter Gordon, Pierre Michelot, Billy Higgins, John McLaughlin, Chet Baker, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter, Lonette McKee, and Cedar Walton, most of whom appear in the film. It won the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Score in 1986, against strong competition, most notably Ennio Morricone's The Mission and Jerry Goldsmith's Hoosiers. Additional music recorded during the making of the film was released under Dexter Gordon's name as The Other Side of Round Midnight (1986).

Track listing

1. "Round Midnight" (Thelonious Monk, Bernie Hanighen, Cootie Williams) - 5.35
2. "Body and Soul" (Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton, Johnny Green) - 5.54
3. "Bérangère's Nightmare" (Hancock) - 3.06
4. "Fair Weather" (Kenny Dorham) - 6.05
5. "Una Noche Con Francis" (Bud Powell) - 4.22
6. "The Peacocks" (Jimmy Rowles) - 7.16
7. "How Long Has This Been Going On?" (Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin) - 3.12
8. "Rhythm-A-Ning" (Monk) - 4.11
9. "Still Time" (Hancock) - 3.50
10. "Minuit Aux Champs-Elysées" (Henri Renaud) - 3.26
11. "Chan's Song (Never Said)" (Stevie Wonder, Hancock) - 4.15

• Recorded Live at Studio Eclair, Épinay-sur-Seine, France
  Additional Recording at Studio Davout and Studio Phillipe Sarde, Paris

Personnel

• Herbie Hancock: piano (all tracks except 8)
• Ron Carter: bass (tracks 1, 8 & 11)
• Tony Williams: drums (tracks 1, 8 & 11)
• Bobby McFerrin: vocal (tracks 1 & 11)
• Dexter Gordon: tenor saxophone (tracks 2,5,7,8 & 9)
• Pierre Michelot: bass (tracks 2,3,4,5,6,7 & 9)
• Billy Higgins: drums (tracks 2,3,4,5,6,7 & 9)
• John McLaughlin: guitar (tracks 2 & 3)
• Chet Baker: vocal & trumpet (track 4)
• Bobby Hutcherson: vibes (tracks 5 & 10)
• Wayne Shorter: tenor saxophone (track 5), soprano saxophone (track 6)
• Lonette McKee: vocal (track 7)
• Freddie Hubbard: trumpet (track 8)
• Cedar Walton: piano (track 8)

Controversy

The awarding of the Oscar for Best Original Score to Round Midnight has been considered one of the most controversial wins in that category, beating such noteworthy contenders as James Horner's first nominated score for Aliens, Jerry Goldsmith's score to Hoosiers, and Ennio Morricone's score for The Mission, which has since been ranked twenty-third on the American Film Institute's list of 25 greatest film scores.^[2] In his review of the score to Hoosiers, Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com stated, "The awarding of the original score Oscar for 1986 to Herbie Hancock for 'Round Midnight is considered one of the greatest of the many injustices that have befallen nominees for that category. Ennio Morricone and, to a lesser extent, James Horner were worthy of recognition that year, though Goldsmith's Hoosiers stands in a class of its own because of its immense impact on the picture."^[3] Morricone, who has never won a competitive Oscar, said in an interview: "I definitely felt that I should have won for The Mission, especially when you consider that the Oscar-winner that year was Round Midnight, which was not an original score. It had a very good arrangement by Herbie Hancock, but it used existing pieces. So there could be no comparison with The Mission. There was a theft!".^[4]

References