Jazz VGM

[Zeratul]

Some of the most interesting VGM, to me, is often very jazzy in nature because of the improvisations and complex compositions. So, what do you think of jazz VGM and what songs of its style do you enjoy?

The songs I really enjoy of this style come from the Rockman X (Alpha Lyra), Megaman X6, Breath of Fire 3, F-Zero Arranged, and various other albums.

In particular:

Rockman X (Alpha Lyra) - Get Through the Dark, Night in White, Repliroid King

Breath o0f Fire 3 - These Little Things, Atomic Power, Castle in the Sky, The Champion, Overworld # 2

F-Zero Arranged - Big Blue, Fire Field, Mute City, Death Wind

Sangokushi Eiketsuden - Burning Heat, Cao Cao

Nights Into Dreams - The Dragon Gave A Loud Scream, Take the Snow Train, She Had Long Ears

Romancing Saga La Romance - Le Village Desert ~ Theme De La Solitude, Perdu Dans La Foret

[Eriol]

>>>Megaman X6 - North Pole Area (Blizzard Wolfgang), Amazon Area (Commander Yammark)<<<

I didn't consider them jazz.

What qualifies as jazz?

[Zeratul]

Well, they weren't completely jazz, but they had some jazz elements and instrumentation in them.

I suppose what qualifies as jazz has improvisations and dynamic rhythms and beats. They often use a lot of saxes as well. But, I guess you're right about those two. They are more 'new age' with jazz influences. *Edits.*

Oh well, I somehow forgot Sim City 3000 anyway.

Sim City 3000 - Concrete JUngle, Magic City, Infrasctructure

[Adaman]

I've really come to love the entire F-Zero Arranged ablum, so i'll name all the tracks on the album...

Opening Theme
Big Blue
Red Canyon
Fire Field
Silence
White Land
Port Town
Select Time Theme
Mute City
Sand Ocean
Death Wind
Ending Theme


There arent any other VGM jazz albums i can think of that i really like, Unless the first disc of the Super Mario World album counts as jazz... it does have a Saxxaphone =p, if that counts, i like all those tracks too.

[Naka]

I like a lot of jazzy VGM. Two of my favorite albums in particular are Chrono Trigger BOT and Super Mario World. They are both jazz, but different styles I think. Mario is more laid back and smooth easy jazz. While CT is a tad more upbeat. Quality albums :)

[Rince]

I LIKE VGM Jazz!

Especially the F-ZERO by Robben Ford and Marc Russo (who are two Jazz celebrities themselves) qualifies as Jazz, Eriol.

[Kukeiha]

I'd consider most of that stuff fusion instead of jazz. I don't remember what Sangokushi Eiketsuden and La Romance sound like, and I'm too lazy to check right now. I say jazz would be more like the stuff found in Clockwork Knight ~ Pepperouchou no Dai Bouken. Yeah, Sim City 3000's got cool jazz music. I definitely like hearing jazz in games if it's executed well (like, uh, using jazz in Cowboy Bebop)

[Zeratul]

Front Mission 3 also had some nice jazzy compositions that often fit in very well with the techno of the other songs. Some of the best songs were a combination of the two. The Bar theme for modern cities (General Purpose) was a nice, laid back song that is great for relaxation. Some of the battle themes that combined the techno and jazz were pretty cool as well, though the jazz influences were in how they were composed rather than their instreumentation. "Advancing Attack", "Barilar", and "Swift Attack" were great examples of VGM that isn't straight jazz, but has a lot of its influences in them and demonstrates how nice some songs can be when they mix genres.

So, feel free to mention and discuss VGM songs that you think mix jazz with other genres well, because this isn't meant to focus only on songs like the smooth jazz from Rockman X and others. There are quite a few sub-genres and hybrid genres of jazz anyway, and some VGM executes them very well.

[ckain]

Jazz/Fusion VGM is my favourite!

Konami's Pro Fusion albums are great, especially Salamander one. ;-)

[dma]

The best Jazz arrangements are definitly the Super Mario World ones for me.

[WtDrgn]

Although it's been quite a while now, I think the music in Transport Tycoon is Jazz. I remember I used sometimes load up the game just to listen to the music.

Now days F-Zero Arranged takes up about 50% of my VGM listening time.

[Pez]

A few more tracks people might be interested in.

Rockman X: Epilogue ~The Transient Silence
KOF 97 AST: Mirthless (Lovely bit of jazz piano this)
KOF 97 AST: 176th Street

Track 2 from Dark Reign 2 (Redbook Audio) is a nice fusion combo(orchestral/techno) also.

[Maximus Asmadi]

The only album I can really think of that sounds like jazz not already listed would be Snatcher to Policenauts: Music Compilation of Hideo Kojima/Black Disk. I love the sound of that album too, it's great.

[niki]

Chrono Trigger Brink of Time got a Jazzy atmosphere. I love this album.