Video game jazz
- Thread starter Tony L
- Start date
kjb
Proof reading not always a strength
Interesting video.
That makes perfect sense: you have to earn a living somewhere. If this option had been available in the 50s and 60s it would have been taken up by plenty of players.
I have a neighbour who is a classical violinist, is lead violin for a fairly well known orchestra but still does pop sessions, tours and teaching to keep the wolf from the door.
Some great music will undoubtedly come out of this combination as well as allowing plenty of musicians to stay in the game.
That makes perfect sense: you have to earn a living somewhere. If this option had been available in the 50s and 60s it would have been taken up by plenty of players.
I have a neighbour who is a classical violinist, is lead violin for a fairly well known orchestra but still does pop sessions, tours and teaching to keep the wolf from the door.
Some great music will undoubtedly come out of this combination as well as allowing plenty of musicians to stay in the game.
Tony L
Administrator
FWIW I didn’t think it worked and felt it sounded more like the big-band show tunes etc the BBC slide into The Proms than what I think of as jazz. I can really see the attraction to the old 8 bit chip game soundtracks though, they are certainly part of art and culture now. I posted the thread as it was interesting, especially in its popularity within that market. It will be interesting to see if it eventually develops into more free and improvised forms.
Dave H.
Revolutionary relativist
I tend to find it a bit regrettable when 'video game music' or video games in general are used to conjure images of Donkey Kong or whatever 80s-era pixellated stuff. The guy making the video bemoans irony and jokey cynicism and then goes on to cover an interpretation of the Super Mario end theme (SM originally from 1985), saying there's no hint of irony in it. I don't buy it - the whole thing is shot through with 'isn't it fun that we're treating this throwback kids' stuff like this?'.
Maybe that's just me. They're obviously enjoying it regardless.
On the more positive side, the treatment of Kenny Garrett's take on Elden Ring's music is better, though it needs to be borne (pun fully intended if anyone notices it!) in mind that that's not 8-bit beep boop he's riffing on, it's a massive and often deeply serious suite of fully orchestral music.
Thinking of 'real' game jazz, there are some quite nice chilled out jazz arrangements in the Yakuza games. There's a playlist of a few of the tracks on youtube, I quite like some of it for the 4am boozy vibe, albeit that they're mostly relatively simple:
Plus the character Date has a pretty impressive hifi system (big monoblocks etc.) that’s briefly glimpsed in passing once. Nice detail.
Maybe that's just me. They're obviously enjoying it regardless.
On the more positive side, the treatment of Kenny Garrett's take on Elden Ring's music is better, though it needs to be borne (pun fully intended if anyone notices it!) in mind that that's not 8-bit beep boop he's riffing on, it's a massive and often deeply serious suite of fully orchestral music.
Thinking of 'real' game jazz, there are some quite nice chilled out jazz arrangements in the Yakuza games. There's a playlist of a few of the tracks on youtube, I quite like some of it for the 4am boozy vibe, albeit that they're mostly relatively simple:
Plus the character Date has a pretty impressive hifi system (big monoblocks etc.) that’s briefly glimpsed in passing once. Nice detail.
I don’t like it. When I saw the thread title I thought it would be about Nintendo’s interpolations of jazz tunes, not the other way round. One of a few examples...
Nintendo composer Koji Kondo, like almost everyone there (then and probably now), is something of a jazz nut. He’s still at Nintendo, and here’s his ever-present Underworld Theme, first heard in 1985’s Super Mario Bros., and written in his early-20s...
Which clearly borrows from this fusion number...
And also, best heard at 10:15...
Yes, ‘Calypso Frelimo’ is one of my favourite Miles tunes (I mentioned it in another thread recently), as thanks to hours of Super Mario, the late Michael Henderson’s endless three-note bass riff was burned into my subsconscious long before I’d ever even heard him play it.
Nintendo composer Koji Kondo, like almost everyone there (then and probably now), is something of a jazz nut. He’s still at Nintendo, and here’s his ever-present Underworld Theme, first heard in 1985’s Super Mario Bros., and written in his early-20s...
Which clearly borrows from this fusion number...
And also, best heard at 10:15...
Yes, ‘Calypso Frelimo’ is one of my favourite Miles tunes (I mentioned it in another thread recently), as thanks to hours of Super Mario, the late Michael Henderson’s endless three-note bass riff was burned into my subsconscious long before I’d ever even heard him play it.