The 8-Bit Big Band is a jazz and pops orchestra directed by Charlie Rosen. The band won a Grammy Award for a video game music arrangement in 2022, and were nominated again in 2024.
History
The 8-Bit Big Band was founded in 2017 by Charlie Rosen, who also serves as the director. He did not initially anticipate that the project would be successful in the long term, but it received a positive community response online – particularly on YouTube, which he likened to the "Tin Pan Alley of video game music".[1] Primarily based in New York City, the band plays arrangements of popular video game songs – which Rosen refers to as "the great video game songbook" – from titles such as Mario Kart 64 (1996) and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998).[1][2] Rosen's background in Broadway theater music led him to incorporate elements of its musical style in his work.[3] Will Friedwald of The New York Sun compared many of the band's arrangements to the compositions of Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder.[4] The band features around 30 performers, most of whom join temporarily, or are hired locally when the band tours.[1] The band's live performances also feature guest performers such as Grace Kelly and Leo Pellegrino.[5][6]
In a collaboration with Button Masher, the band arranged the song "Meta Knight's Revenge", from the game Kirby Super Star (1996), which appeared on their studio album Backwards Compatible in 2021.[7] In 2022, it was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella,[8] one of the few times a video game score had been considered at the event, and the first time a song from a Nintendo game had won.[7] In 2023, the band covered the song "Last Surprise", from Persona 5 (2016); PC Gamer's Mollie Taylor appreciated the reworking, finding "extra jazzy vibes along with a sprinkling of some more retro digitized sound bites."[9] The arrangement received a nomination for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals in 2024.[10]
Accolades
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grammy Awards | 2022 | Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella | "Meta Knight's Revenge" | Won | [8] |
| 2025 | Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals | "Last Surprise" | Nominated | [10] |
Discography
- Press Start! (2018)
- Choose Your Character! (2019)
- Backwards Compatible (2021)
- Game Changer (2023)
References
- ^ a b c d Olson, Eric (August 26, 2024). "Video games meet big band jazz at Seattle's Benaroya Hall". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ Harris, Elizabeth A. (April 14, 2019). "The modern music man: he plays 70 instruments and video games, too". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 21, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ Remington, Kate (February 21, 2020). "Swingin' with the 8-Bit Big Band". WSHU. Archived from the original on December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ Friedwald, Will (December 21, 2023). "Jazz for the video game generation". The New York Sun. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ Milano, Brett (October 4, 2019). "Video game music + jazz = 8-Bit alchemy". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
- ^ Kohli, Diti (February 19, 2020). "8-Bit – the big band that plays video game music – returns to Berklee next month". The Boston Globe. ProQuest 2358215320. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Rossignol, Derrick (April 4, 2022). "A song from a 26-year-old Kirby game is Nintendo's first Grammy win". Uproxx. Archived from the original on May 29, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Brown, Andy (April 5, 2022). "Kirby picks up a Grammy thanks to the 8-Bit Big Band". NME. Archived from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ Taylor, Mollie (November 11, 2024). "It only took 8 years and an orchestral jazz cover but one of the funkiest Persona 5 songs finally got nominated for a Grammy". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on November 27, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ a b van der Velde, Issy (November 12, 2024). "Persona 5 jazz cover nominated against Willow Smith and John Legend at Grammys 2025". NME. Archived from the original on November 16, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.