Long considered a very valuable pianist, arranger, and conductor behind the scenes, whether accompanying singers (including his classic recordings with
Irene Kral) or as part of bands (most notably Charlie Haden's Quartet West),
Alan Broadbent tends to be underrated as a pianist/leader. In the Los Angeles area he occasionally performs in clubs where his trio work is quite spontaneous. For
'Round Midnight, he simply gathered together two of his favorite players (bassist
Brian Bromberg and drummer Joe LaBarbera), decided on a list of tunes (including two of his originals), and played. Although the results are quite logical, nothing was arranged in advance. It just worked out this perfectly on a moment's notice. Whether swinging on bebop standards, digging into
J.J. Johnson's "Lament," or transforming "Serenata" into jazz, everything works well on this easily recommended trio outing. ~ Scott Yanow