Round Midnight (film)

Round Midnight is a 1986 AmericanFrench musical drama film directed by Bertrand Tavernier and written by Tavernier and David Rayfiel. It stars Dexter Gordon, Franois Cluzet and Herbie Hancock. Martin Scorsese, Philippe Noiret and Wayne Shorter appear in cameos.

Dale Turner, a famous tenor saxophone player in Paris in the 1950s is befriended by Francis, a struggling French graphic designer specialized in film posters, who idolizes the musician and who tries desperately to help him to escape alcohol abuse. As he succeeds, the budding friendship they develop changes their lives forever.Tavernier defied the movie studio by insisting that reallife jazz tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon play the role of Turner. Gordon, who himself played with Bud Powell in Paris in the early 1960s, helped to revise and rewrite the script. The supporting cast is likewise composed of jazz musicians mainly from the generation which followed Gordon and Powell such as Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, John McLaughlin, and Wayne Shorter, among others who play the music live throughout the film. In addition to the musicians, the actors Franois Cluzet, Gabrielle Haker, Sandra ReavesPhillips, Lonette McKee, and Christine Pascal. ........

Source: Wikipedia