I like online game music, however it may be actually troublesome to hearken to some soundtracks, particularly older ones, by legit means. Covers, whereas not the identical factor, have at all times been a straightforward means round that, and the web is filled with them. I’m particularly keen on jazz covers (I’ve been a fan of insaneintherain’s music for years), and I distinctly keep in mind how excited I used to be once I found The 8-Bit Big Band, a big ensemble devoted to elaborate jazzy covers of online game music, round 2019. When it gained a Grammy in 2022 for its model of Meta Knight’s Revenge, I used to be thrilled, not simply on behalf of the band, however on behalf of online game music as a complete, which has by no means obtained the popularity it deserved.
I used to be shocked, to say the least, once I came upon that the band’s chief, Charlie Rosen, would not even contemplate this his major job.
“This still is, I guess, a side project,” Rosen says to me over Zoom. “Which seems reductive now to say at this point, because it is very much part of my life in a big way. But it started out as a side project tangential to my main career, which is working on Broadway musicals and orchestrating them, arranging them, conducting them.”
I unknowingly noticed Rosen carry out at his “main job” in the summertime of 2019. In addition to jazz, I’m additionally keen on Broadway musicals, and Rosen performed guitar within the pit orchestra for Be More Chill, a present with music he orchestrated and organized. The soundtrack has clear online game affect (there’s a whole quantity known as “Two-Player Game”), however Rosen’s online game interest did not totally bleed into his skilled life till a fateful journey to Japan.
Charlie Rosen stands entrance and heart at an 8-Bit Big Band live performance.
The Great Video Game Songbook
In Tokyo, Rosen was taking a shamisen and koto lesson when he seen his teacher had a duplicate of a Ganbare Goemon sport (often called Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon within the West) for the Nintendo 64. It’s not a sport you see daily, particularly stateside, however Rosen was a fan and pointed it out. He ended up bonding together with his trainer, Kazushi Okimasa, over their collective love of online game music, and Okimasa gave Rosen a duplicate of his band’s album. That band, because it seems, was Famikoto, a gaggle that covers online game music with conventional Japanese devices, and Rosen was hooked.
“I was listening to the album on the plane [home],” Rosen says. “I’m like, ‘This is so cool. I want to record an album of video game music.'” The thought caught, and in 2018, The 8-Bit Big Band launched its first album, Press Start. Rosen reiterates that the venture was only for enjoyable, and whereas he was probably hoping for a optimistic response, he was stunned by simply how fashionable the group was, even from the earliest performances.
“We did our first live show in 2018 in like, a 200-seat jazz club, maybe 150,” he says, referencing a now closed venue SubCulture in New York. “We did two shows that night, and I remember being like, ‘I don’t know anybody here,’ you know? I thought it would just be my friends and family, and it’s like, I literally know nobody. There’s a whole scene for this that I was unaware of.”
As our dialog continues, I’m shocked by how unaware Rosen truly was of this nook of online game tradition. “I did not know there was, like, a big scene for covering video game music or jazz covers or arrangements. I just did it totally for fun,” he says. Despite that, he blindly walked into a distinct segment in the neighborhood, discovering nice success together with his Broadway-caliber preparations, massive ensemble, professionally produced recordings, and distinctive tackle the basic songs. Thanks to his present dedication to YouTube, he is capitalized on that profitable method, raking in over 80 million views to this point, however none of it will be doable with out his particular musical method.
“This is what jazz musicians do,” Rosen says. “Jazz musicians reimagine standards, […] whether it be film scores, [The Great] American Songbook, jazz standards, [or] Broadway musicals. […] And now that we’re 40 years into video game music, we also have a collective body of the great video game songbook […] that we all grew up with. And so jazz musicians can, like, take it and reimagine it, reinterpret it, and people will know the songs.”
I respect the best way The 8-Bit Big Band performs round with a track. Jazz is an umbrella of genres which can be very conducive to musical references, and noticing one mid-song is like being part of a enjoyable inside joke. One of my favourite songs I performed in highschool jazz band is known as “Spain,” initially by Chick Corea. Listen to this iconic a part of the track, after which hearken to this half from The 8-Bit Big Band’s rendition of the Chrono Trigger theme. In the context of the jazz cowl, it retains the viewers on their toes with yet one more stylistic variation, but when you recognize each unique songs, it is a shocking collision of two worlds. If you’ve got ever seen somebody lose their thoughts at a jazz solo or association, this kind of crossover is among the the reason why.
Charlie Rosen conducts the 8-Bit Big Band
Rosen emphasizes that this playfulness is why he likes the jazz method a lot, particularly after we examine it to a extra conventional orchestral cowl, just like the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s online game albums.
“The makers of these games, or the orchestras, want to be like, ‘Take this music seriously.’ And what music is taken more seriously than classical music, right?” Rosen says. “We’re wearing tuxes, and we’re playing Zelda, and that’s amazing. That’s fantastic. […] But I think that there’s just a lot more fun to be had with the music [when] maintaining a high professional level of musicianship, but letting people in and being a lot more playful with the arranging of the music in these more contemporary and pop styles, to just showcase how flexible the music can be and have a good time doing it.”
Some tracks are extra easy takes on a tune, just like the band’s rendition of “Bob-Omb Battlefield,” whereas others convert acquainted themes into very particular jazz types. Rosen says, “I’ll have a flash of an idea for, like, a theme from a game and think, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be cool if I arranged it in this way?’ Like, for example, wouldn’t it be cool […] if Frank Sinatra had played Portal?” Other latest examples embrace the theme from Luigi’s Mansion within the type of “Sing, Sing, Sing” and themes from the Super Mario sequence within the type of a gospel reward break. Sometimes Rosen hops straight from inspiration to arranging, however different instances he takes the thought and pockets it for a wet day.
Still, you needn’t perceive the references to understand how the covers rework the supply materials, and that is by design. Referencing our earlier dialog about orchestral covers, Rosen says, “I also think jazz can suffer from what we’re talking about sometimes, where it gets so heavy and so contemporary and so collegiate that it’s not accessible anymore. Part of The 8-Bit Big Band is showing that these arrangements can be accessible even if you don’t know the games.”
Turn-Based Transcription
One would possibly count on Rosen to put in writing all of the preparations, schedule the musicians, after which document the entire album in a single fell swoop, nevertheless it all comes collectively rather more slowly than that, despite the fact that Rosen admits, “I mean, certainly I’d probably save a little bit of money if I did it all at once.” Instead, songs are organized and recorded in chunks of three or 4 at a time, sometimes just a few instances a 12 months, at any time when Rosen has time in his schedule. It’s additionally higher for the musicians – even just a few hours of recording only a handful of songs is “exhausting,” in response to Rosen, as a result of periods might be significantly intense or bodily demanding relying on the piece.
The logistics of such a big group are additionally lots to deal with. While solo musicians or smaller musical teams might need the cash to put in writing or experiment within the studio, Rosen pays for “about 35” folks without delay to document, and whenever you add in the price of renting studio house, time is of the essence. Despite the requirements of construction, they’re nonetheless enjoying jazz music, so some components are afforded a bit of wiggle room.
Four saxophonists play the music from Dolphin Shoals, a observe in Mario Kart 8. Click the picture to see the complete track
“I write out the full orchestration, the chart, the arrangement, ahead of time,” Rosen explains. “And then when we get into the studio, especially for the rhythm section – so, guitar, piano, bass, and drums – they can be a little bit more free and interpretational with what I write, because it’s jazz, you know? I sort of give them more of a rough guideline. I don’t write out every single note of the bass line. I don’t write out every single drum fill. You just write the shape of the chart and what’s important to play.”
The different consequence of the piecemeal recording type is that every session has completely different musicians. Rosen estimates that any given recording in all probability solely shares 65 p.c of its musicians with the prior session, and that despite the fact that they solely have round 35 folks per observe, albums can contain nicely over 100 musicians.
Achievement Hunting
Five albums and nearly eight years later, The 8-Bit Big Band has seen loads of success, with none extra thrilling than its preliminary Grammy win in 2022. Rosen, who’s a member of the Recording Academy (due to his “day” job), submitted the group’s “Meta Knight’s Revenge” cowl for consideration. He says he recollects considering, “This is the biggest long shot in the history of music, you know? But sure, I’ll submit my fun little video game music arrangements to the Grammy Awards.” Turns out, it wasn’t a protracted shot in any respect, and Rosen finally obtained the award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella.
The group was nominated once more in 2025 with its rendition of “Last Surprise” from Persona 5, this time for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals, however misplaced to vocal quartet säje. This 12 months, the band is definitely nominated twice; as soon as for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella once more (for “Super Mario Praise Break”) and as soon as for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album (for Orchestra Emulator).
The cowl of Orchestra Emulator, the band’s newest album.
“[T]hat is like, a traditional jazz category,” Rosen says, referring to Orchestra Emulator’s nomination. “That’s like– the other nominees are heavy-hitting jazz legends, so it’s pretty insane to be listed alongside them, to be honest.”
Of course, he is additionally captivated with “Super Mario Praise Break.” Just like together with his first award, he is the one who decides which tracks to submit for consideration, that means that is an association he is significantly happy with.
“I submitted [“Super Mario Praise Break”] because it is just such a skillful example of what an arrangement is, which is just wildly recontextualizing a theme in a new way to showcase the quality of that theme in a completely different musical context,” Rosen says.
Matthew Whitaker performs the organ in The 8-Bit Big Band’s tackle “Waluigi Pinball”
He additionally makes some extent to credit score his collaborators, Matthew Whitaker and Bryan Carter. Both grew up within the church, making them particularly certified to put in writing a reward break. Both additionally carry out with the group, enjoying completely different devices. Whitaker is an completed pianist, and also you would possibly acknowledge him from his organ efficiency on 8-Bit Big Band’s tackle “Waluigi Pinball” (which has a bass line that sounds suspiciously like Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon”). Meanwhile, Carter performs the drums and likewise labored with Rosen to orchestrate 2022’s Broadway present Some Like It Hot, for which the duo additionally gained a Grammy.
While Rosen mentions this different Grammy in passing (he says he is “gotten a couple” nominations for his “Broadway stuff”), our dialog by no means turns in direction of these different awards. They’re merely irrelevant, which is a humorous factor to say a few Grammy within the context of somebody’s musical profession. It’s a pleasant reminder, although, that regardless of teasers of songs which may seem within the subsequent album, it’d nonetheless be a methods off. After all, regardless of the reward, the views, and the awards, that is solely Rosen’s facet gig.
