THE 8-BIT BIG BAND

ORCHESTRATOR EMULATOR

Teamchuck Records

Opening with the composition,“Intro to Album 5,” GRAMMY award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist, Charlie Rosen’s 8-Bit Big Band celebrates their fifth album release.  The band features over 90 of New York City’s finest musicians. This time the viral ensemble takes on fresh arrangements of familiar video game music, played from the orchestra’s perspective.

Track #2 features the “Wii Sports Theme from Wii Sports.”  Brian Sheu takes a provocative guitar solo, and Andrew Gould is spotlighted during his alto saxophone solo. The horn ensemble builds the music with bluster and beauty.

The band covers several other video games including “Brinstar from Metroid” and “Super Mario Brothers 3 Overworld Theme from Super Mario Bros 3.”  During this arrangement, Javier Nero is soloing on trombone.

Most of this music is joyful. For those who love video games, the 8-Bit Big Band will play music that is both familiar and reflective of the individual games those players enjoy.

“Kass’s Theme from the Legend of Zelda- Breath of the Wild” is spicy hot with Latin rhythms featuring Wilson Torres on percussion and the bright, exciting trumpet solo of Michael Rodriguez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FSU3yx0pcw&list=RD8FSU3yx0pcw&start_radio=1

This unique musical ensemble won a GRAMMY in 2022 in the Arrangement Category for their album “Backwards Compatible.” The 8-Bit Big Band continues their mission of building what Charlie Rosen calls ‘The Great Video Game Songbook.’

BAND MEMBERS are: RHYTHM SECTION: Charlie Rosen, guitar/bandleader/producer/arranger; Brian Sheu & Marcos Robinson, guitar; Natalie Tenenbaum, Michael Mitchell, Miki Yamanaka & Matthew Whitaker, piano/keyboards; Adam Neely, Julia Adamy, Charlie Rosen Michael Olatuja & Marcus Reddick, bass; Jared Schonig, Bryan Carter, & Marques Walls, drums; Liann Cline, harp. WOODWINDS: Andrew Gould, Emily Pecoraro, Dave Pollack, Zac Zinger & Jordan Pettay, alto saxophones. Sam Dillon, Zac Zinger, Lucas Pino & Paul Jones, tenor saxophones; Adison Evans & Andres Gutauskas, baritone saxophone; Andrew Hadro, bass saxophone.  Andrew Gould, Emily Pecoraro, Dave Pollack, Lucas Pino, Jordan Pettay, flutes; San Dillon, Zac Zinger & Paul Jones, clarinets; Adison Evans & Andrew Gutauskas, bass clarinets. TRUMPETS: Bryan Davis, John Lake, Danny Jonokuchi, Wayne Tucker, Jay Webb, Gabe Medd, Liesl Whitaker, Kenny Rampton, Chloe Rowlands, Nick Frenay. TROMBONES: Jimmy O’Connell, Robert Edwards, Javier Nero, & Mariel Bildsten; Reginald Chapman III, Rebecca Patterson, Jacob Meisha & Ron Wilkins; Kyra Sims & Judy Lee, French horn; Kenny Bentley, & Reginald Chapman III, French Horn. VIOLINS: Tomoko Akaboshi, Caroline Cassio, Maria Im, Eli Bishop, Daniel Constant, Francesca Dardani, Nicole Wright, Lucy Voin, Lavinia Pavlish, Kevin Kuh, Hannah LeGrand, Chris Baum, Tessa Sacramone, Josh Henderson, Danielle Giulini, Meitar Forkosh; VIOLAS: Laura Sacks, Tia Allen, Sunday Jayaram, Kayla Williams, Jarvis Benson, Jay Julio, Nicole Wright, Sarah Haimes, Yumi Oshima, Midori Witkoski. CELLI: Sasha Ono, Zach Brown, Jessica Wang, Terrence Thornhill, Chad Schwartz, Sam Quiggins, Susan Mandel.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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