Time for our monthly special episode of “On Stage Now”, where we feature a musician or group of musicians and play their works of video game music.
For February, we’re featuring 8-Bit Big Band, a jazz orchestra founded by Charlie Rosen in 2017. Composed of between 25 to as much as 65, this group plays arrangements of video game music. Earlier, they won their 2nd Grammy award for “Best Arrangement, Instrumental, or A Cappella” for their track “Super Mario Praise Break”. It’s an arrangement of instrumentals from Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario World. Their 1st Grammy was from 2022 for “Best Arrangement, Instrumental, and Vocals” for “Meta Knight’s Revenge”.
Let’s give it up for 8-Bit Big Band!
8-Bit Big Band (Personal Website, YT, IG, X, Spotify, Patreon)
Track Listing
“Athletic Theme from Yoshi’s Island – Big Band Swing Version” – [Yoshi’s Island] – composed by Koji Kondo
“Still Alive – Frank Sinatra Big Band Swing Version” – [Portal] – composed by Johnathon Coulton
“Tetris Theme – Contempory Big Band/Classical Fusion Version” – [Tetris] – composed by Nikolay Nekrasov and Alexander N. Chernyavsky, arranged by Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka
“Geruda Valley – Orchestral Jazz Big Band Version” – [The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time] – composed by Koji Kondo
“Jump Up Super Star! – Full Big Band/Strings cover ft. Grace Kelly” – [Super Mario Odyssey] – composed by Naoto Kubo
“Snake Eater – Big Band Version ft. Tiffany Mann” – [Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater] – composed by Norihiko Hibino
“You Wouldn’t Know – Portal Big Band Version ft. Benny Benack III” – [Portal] – composed by Johnathon Coulton
“Beneath the Mask from Persona 5 – Full Big Band Version ft. Aisha Jackson” – [Persona 5] – composed by Shoji Meguro
“No More What Ifs from Persona 5: Royal – Full Big Band Version ft. Martina DaSilva” – [Persona 5: Royal] – composed by Shoji Meguro
Outro: “Megalovania – Extra HEAVY Big Band version” – [Undertale] – composed by Toby Fox
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