Ravita Jazz - Video Game Music

Ravita Jazz Unveils New Concert

Ravita Jazz returns to An die Musik Live! with an exciting new program. The band is unveiling “Video Game Music: The Sonic Edge.” Featuring inventive, contemporary jazz and pop tunes, the concert is coming to Baltimore for the first time.

Video Game Music represents a new genre reaching listeners of all ages. The genre is gaining popularity with pop music audiences, being played by symphony orchestras and finding its way into academic Institutions. Its trajectory parallels that of jazz, movie music and music for television. As with these now established genres, its development was driven by the introduction and increasing popularity of new entertainment media.

Among the pop tunes to be heard are the “Angry Birds Theme” composed by Ari Pulkkinen in 2000 and “Kokiri Forest” from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, written by Koji Kendo in 2019. On the jazzier side are the Kendo composition “Overworld” from Super Mario World and “Rainbow Road” a 1998 composition from Super Mario Cart 8 by Shiho Fujii.

There’s much more in store.

Of course, game music is already popular with gamers. This concert allows them to hear musical compositions from their favorite games in their entirety. They’ll have the opportunity to fully appreciate the inventiveness, interesting melodies, rhythms, and changes in key and tempo. For non-gamers it’s a fascinating introduction to a new genre whose composers include musicians trained in multiple genres such as symphonic or classical music, jazz, funk, pop, rock and Latin styles - elements that show up in the scores of gaming music.

Prominent video game composers hail from such countries as Japan, the U.S., the U.K., Finland and Israel. They often compose and perform in multiple disciplines. Some also write film scores or compose for theatre or television; many compose for recordings and live performance. Among them are instrumentalists, singers, actors and record producers Dr. Ravita looks forward to the performance. He says, “it’s an opportunity to present a new and upcoming musical genre at a one of the East Coast's premier jazz venues.” His group includes pianist Greg Small and drummer Nic Vega. Joining them for this special concert is Washington, D.C. jazz giant, saxophonist Herb Scott.

This performance is made possible by a Free Fall Baltimore grant through the Baltimore Office of Promotion &  the Arts (BOPA).

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