Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Purchasable with gift card
$25AUD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Physical CD of the album 'Gamer'. Includes 16 page booklet detailing the inspiration behind the album and production notes. Please note that the CD version does not include 'The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Hyrule Castle Theme'. Price includes postage to anywhere in the world :)
Includes unlimited streaming of Gamer
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Following on from his previous jazz big band releases, The LA EP (2015) and The Manhattan EP (2016), West Australian composer/arranger Myles Wright releases his first full length album Gamer - a selection of retro video game music arranged for expanded big band.
Six years in the making, the album features reinventions of well-known video game classics such as the 1991 Nintendo release Super Mario World (composed by Japanese video game music legend Koji Kondo) and some lesser known titles, such as the 1985 Amiga 500 release of Ghouls & Ghosts (composed by Tim Follin).
Fans of Follin’s music will be interested in this release as his music (along with his brother Geoff) is well represented here - with four outings from their 1993 game soundtrack to Plok! included. Although not well known outside the video game community, the Follin brothers have a cult following among retro gaming enthusiasts, and the arrangements on Gamer bring new life to these 8 and 16-bit classics.
Fans of large ensemble jazz will be keen to check out this release, with French horns, tuba and percussion adding colors and textures not normally heard within the traditional big band lineup. Legendary mix engineer Allen Sides takes full advantage of this with a wonderful mix. High quality speakers or headphones are a must!
World music is represented here too, with Wright’s arrangement of the 1993 Super Nintendo release Prince of Persia showcasing Persian percussion instruments.
Player-wise Gamer features a selection of LA’s top session musicians including standout soloists such as Bob Sheppard (tenor sax), Aaron Janik (trumpet, flugelhorn), Ido Meshulam (trombone) and Alan Steinberger (piano/synth). The entire ensemble can be seen in the beautifully shot videos for YouTube, which also features some bonus tracks.
Video game music provides endlessly fertile ground with which Wright creates his own unique world, in contrast to the well-worn catalogue of jazz standards arranged for big band.
credits
released February 5, 2024
Arrangements by Myles Wright
MUSICIANS
Reeds - Jeff Driskill, Sal Lozano, Bob Sheppard, Brian Scanlon, Jay Mason
French Horns - Laura Brenes, Dylan Hart, Allen Fogle, Katie Faraudo, Teag Reeves
Trumpets - Wayne Bergeron, Dan Fornero, Aaron Janik, Jeff Bunnell, Rob Schaer
Trombones - Alan Kaplan, Ido Meshulam, Ryan Dragon
Bass Trombone - Craig Gosnell, Steve Trapani
Tuba - Doug Tornquist
Piano - Alan Steinberger
Synth - Alan Steinberger, Jeff Babko
Guitars - Kay-Ta, Andrew Synowiec
Banjo - Andrew Synowiec
Electric & Acoustic Bass - Kevin Axt
Drums - Jamey Tate
Percussion - Wade Culbreath, Brian Kilgore, Pete Korpela
Persian Percussion - Houman Pormehdi, Randy Gloss (tonbak), Amir Sofi (Riq)
Special Guest: - Dan Lutz (bass on Plok! Going Home)
Produced by Myles Wright & Kyle Newmaster
Recorded by Allen Sides at United Recording, studio B, Los Angeles, March 20-22 & 27.
ProTools editing by Kyle Newmaster
A Line in the Sand, Going Underground, and Music from Super Mario World The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Castle Theme were mixed at by Allen Sides United Recording Studio A.
All other tracks mixed by Allen Sides at The Village, Studio B.
ProTools Operator - Scott Moore
Assistant Engineer + Additional ProTools Operating - Rouble Kapoor
Score Assistant - Jeremy Levy
Musician Contractor - Dan Savant - Savant Productions with Shari Girdlestone, Marci Barba-Saurer & J.P Nelson
The Team @ United - Paul Jackson, Victor Janacua, Justin Fisher, Johnny Morgan, Jozef Caldwell, Kaleb Allen, Tory Dawson
Sunset Studios - Belinda Jacobs
Studio Assistant @ The Village - Alisse Laymac
Studio Manager @ The Village - Tina Morris
Coffee Runner - Myles Wright
Graphic Design - Ben Funnell @ April77
Legal - Sebastian Marcu, Jennifer Tutty @ Studio Legal. Thanks also to Sarah Luttrell
Born in 1978, Myles Wright is a composer/arranger based in Perth, Western Australia.
He studied with Graeme Lyall in Perth
and Gary Lindsay in Miami and enjoys writing in many musical styles in addition to jazz.
