This fifth full-length release from GRAMMY-winning composer Charlie Rosen and his 90+ piece ensemble is more than just nostalgia. Orchestrator Emulator transforms classic video game music into rich, energetic, joy-infused jazz. And it’s fun — something jazz is more than capable of, and this album leans into it with joy.

My kids grew up on the Nintendo Wii, and I was the dad playing alongside them. We played a ton of Mario Kart and Wii Sports, so hearing those melodies reimagined as full-on big band arrangements immediately hit home. Rosen’s take on the “Wii Sports Theme” channels an instantly recognizable Earth, Wind & Fire blast , while “Waluigi Pinball” turns into a jazz-funk jam featuring organist Matthew Whitaker. There’s bossa nova from Persona 5, Afro-Cuban textures from Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and even a wall of low brass that would make any headbanger proud on Undertale’s “Megalovania.” It’s hard to believe a track with a name like “Space Junk Road” could sound so insanely gorgeous, but that sweeping orchestral standout piece took my breath away.

As Rosen puts it, “These songs, once confined to background loops and limited sound chips, deserve to be reimagined, revered, and performed with the same respect given to any great work of American music.” Mission accomplished.

More than anything, this album brought me joy. And that’s reason enough to write about it.

Orchestrator Emulator drops July 18 via TeamChuck Records.

Tracks:

1. Intro to Album 5
2. Wii Sports Theme – from “Wii Sports”
3. Brinstar – from “Metroid”
4. Super Mario Bros. 3 Overworld Theme – from “Super Mario Bros 3”
5. Kass’s Theme – from “The Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild”
6. Waluigi Pinball (ft. Matthew Whitaker) – from “Mario Kart”
7. No More What Ifs (ft. Martina DaSilva) – from “Persona 5”
8. Super Mario World Overworld Theme – from “Super Mario World”
9. Space Junk Road – from “Super Mario Galaxy”
10. Tokyo Daylight (ft. Andy Arthur Smith) – from “Persona 5”
11. Casino Night Zone – from “Sonic The Hedgehog 2”
12. Megalovania – from “Undertale”
13. Super Mario Praise Break – themes from various Mario titles
14. Kass’s Theme (Choro Version) – from “The Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild”

Photos by Matthew Murphy.

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Madlib’s interest in jazz became apparent when he created Yesterdays New Quintet, a modern jazz “band” that was comprised of vibraphonist/psychiatrist Ahmad Miller, guitarist Malik Flavors, bassist/physicist Monk Hughes, pianist Joe McDuphrey, and drummer Otis Jackson Jr. All of those were actually Madlib, who learned to play live instruments instead of sampling others. YNQ’s Angles Without Edges CD featured Madlib’s originals in addition to covers of classics by Roy Ayers and Ramsey Lewis.

Digging into the Blue Note catalog was obviously a joy for Madlib, and it shows on Shades of Blue. Madlib adopts new identities (organist Morgan Adams III and DJ Lord Such) and performs almost of the new, live instrumentation himself. It’s not just a remix CD – Madlib breaks apart some of the classics by Donald Byrd, Horace Silver, and Wayne Shorter and reconstitutes them into a different piece of work. I’ve never heard Shorter’s “Footprints” like this. Sometimes the new configuration deserves a different title, as happens with Ronnie Foster’s “Mystic Brew” which gets added a little something to become “Mystic Bounce.” I love what he did to Reuben Wilson’s “Stormy.” If I could still run my Internet radio station, I’d be playing that in heavy rotation. Madlib pays tribute to the era of Blue Note he loves the most – the 1960s and 70s – with “Funky Blue Note,” a nice flute piece backed by some active drum work.

Shades of Blue is a fun album to listen to (or albums if you get the limited edition double LP). It’s rich in funk and based in jazz. It flows well with the interludes, which are remarks from some of the artists who are represented on the CD or comments about Blue Note’s history. It’s a project that can be enjoyed by everyone, though it’s not meant as a CD to expose today’s youth to jazz or today’s jazz fan to hip-hop. “Just trying to connect with the old heads and the young heads at once,” Madlib says. “But it’s not thought out like that. I do the music I want to hear.” Madlib and I are on the same page.

Review originally published June 19, 2003.

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