I love me some video game music, and you can’t argue with Nintendo’s classic themes by Koji Kondo that have become well-recognized and beloved by people across the world, even ones that don’t play video games.
Check out this video game concert in Japan that featured live performances of arranged Mario & Zelda music in Jazz, Latin, Country and Bluegrass.
The host, Ashura Benimaru Itoh, starts off the concert with a great guitar arrangement of the Super Mario Bros. “Main Theme” and “Underworld Theme.” The performances that follow are divided almost evenly between the Tokyo CubaBoys Jr. (The Big Band of Rogues) and Mr. Yoshihiro Arita (with his band).
The “Mario & Zelda Big Band Live” concert was held on September 14th, 2003, at the Nihon Seinenkan Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The DVD recording of this event was bundled with the Japanese gaming magazine “Nintendo Dream” vol. 101, but you can watch the entire concert here.