ReMix: Super Mario Bros. 'Super Mario Blues'

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Super Mario Bros.

AmIEviL, Game Over, and Neskvartetten - Sweden seems to kick disproportionate amounts of musical posterior when it comes to game music arranging, particularly in the jazz and rock arenas. All three of those names are ABBA-sized powerhouses on OCR, but it's the latter who's latest mix breaks with their trend to date of only mixing Zelda themes. Granted, they've stayed safely within the Nintendo camp, but their group name translates to the "NES Quartet" (or something like that), so homage to the Big N is part of their stated agenda. You've got to love the immediacy of the live performance, here, highlighted by an audible count-off, presumably by the drummer Lucas Edman. Every member of this group is a truly impressive musician, and furthermore they all play off each other the way only a group of artists who've worked together for awhile can. It's very symbiotic, and it's the hardest single thing to try and emulate when doing a jazz arrangement all by your lonesome. The theme here is arguably the most recognizable piece of game music in existence, so it's interesting to see what the Nes4 are able to do with it; needless to say, it's somewhat more believable and professional than my own rather antiquated effort ;) A lot of the groups previous arrangement's have heavily featured jazz organ and/or saxophone, but in this instance it's a fret-fest all the way, with guitar dominating throughout. The pared-down instrumentation is probably more in keeping with blues as opposed to jazz arranging, although this still sounds rather jazzy to mine ears. Everything these guys have done to date is gold, and this doesn't break that streak, so it's a no-brainer for our jazz and live music afficionados or anyone interested in seeing how flexible Kondo's plumber's music continues to prove itself.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Good stuff, a great room sound and a nice feel. Drums could have come down a bit in volume and it'd have been perfect, but this is really enjoyable.

- OA on June 18, 2009
I'm already a big fan of jazz, so this mix is twice over one of my favorites.
Even if this wasn't a video game arrangement, it's still some of the best jazz evar.
Plain and simply smooth, classic, and nostalgic.
An absolute must download for the jazz and/or Super Mario Bros. theme lover.

- 42 on December 15, 2008
Yeah, buddy. You do good work, Neskvartetten. Next time you're in Minnesota, hit me up and we can jam the night away.

- meccaneer on December 20, 2006
... Pure stroke of genius. This mix rocks, and would be a great idea to apply to other well known video game songs.
|GX

- Goten X on November 1, 2006
Yes! They're still comin' back with the Vince Guaraldi soundings! Keep up that very smooth "New Orleans'-type" a jazz!
10/10

- A-RoN on November 1, 2006
Wow, these guys are real good. I love the warmth to the sound. I don't get to hear that too often with OC remixes.

- JustChris on October 28, 2006
gooood stuff as always from neskvartetten.. love the Scofield-izms :D

- po! on October 26, 2006
Neskvartetten har gjort ett bra jobb igen. :D

- isthan on October 22, 2006
Two things typically make up blues music: the 12-bar blues chord progression and the style and theme. It's probably safe to say Neskvartetten is much more of a jazz band than a blues band, but many jazz artists play songs in a 12-bar blues pattern, and in the jazz world, use of the term blues generally means just using the 12-bar pattern.

- Kanthos on October 20, 2006
Wow this is awesome. I really like the way you changed the progressions. :D You've honestly turned it into a great jazz improv song, bended to your will. Great stuff.

- Blake on October 19, 2006
John Scofield, much?
A+, guys! Really, phenomenal stuff!

- ktriton on October 19, 2006
Are you sure this mix wasn't supposed to be on OLremix? I'm not feeling this mix at all. It sounds off-key and out-of-synch. Like Mario was high on shrooms when he started playing.
Hey, wait a second...
that was the point, wasn't it?
In that case, good job. :D

- Ness757 on October 17, 2006
Guys, guys. It's Neskvartetten. If you are reading this to check if you should download this or not, you're doing it wrong. It's excellent. So smooth, I can't believe it ain't butter!

- CE on October 16, 2006
It's been a while since I heard something from Neskvartetten, so it's good this mix came up. Once again, it does not disappoint staying with the mellow blues/jazz style, like the Link Goes to New Orleans mix. The classic theme on guitar is incorporated well with the rest of the ensemble and is enjoyable to have one while doing work. So yes, keep these coming!

- lady zelda on October 16, 2006
Yes, we will submit all our remixes.
"Super Mario Blues" is a played as a standard blues-theme except for the second part. Listen to the chords! It's even more obvious during the solos...
And Popo's Poo is a finished remix.

- neskvartetten on October 16, 2006

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