This soundtrack recording is very significant in the career of
Wynton Marsalis. For the first time the trumpeter displayed a sound of his own; the
Miles Davis influence was finally gone. In addition
Marsalis not only debuted with his septet (which consisted of trombonist
Wycliffe Gordon, altoist Wes Anderson,
Todd Williams on tenor, soprano and clarinet, pianist
Marcus Roberts, bassist
Reginald Veal and drummer
Herlin Riley) but, in writing this score,
Marsalis showed how talented an arranger he was; very much in the
Duke Ellington tradition but without resorting to copying. The 16 selections are sometimes a bit fragmented (a few use extra personnel including clarinetist
Michael White on six tracks and vocals by
Shirley Horn and
Johnny Adams) but they hold up very well apart from the movie and have plenty of spirit and humor. ~ Scott Yanow