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6 februari 2024

The brilliant jazz music in Blue Giant

 

 

One of the films I saw at the International Film Festival Rotterdam was Blue Giant, an anime feature by Yuzuru Tachikawa, who was present to answer some questions after the viewing. The film did well with the audience, I have some criticism (three guys getting more and more succesful is not the most exciting premise), but overall I enjoyed the atmosphere, the film stays with me somehow and above all I love the musical score.

Much of Blue Giant is set in Tokyo jazz clubs, where the protagonists of the film play their music, which is really written and performed by jazz pianist Hiromo Uehara and her band. And boy, the pieces are brilliant. Energetic, with rolling piano music like sea waves accompanying a saxophone player (Tomoaki Baba) who sounds like something between Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. Very, very exciting.

I’ve been listening to the soundtrack ever since and N.E.W. is my favorite piece, followed by First Note. Watch the trailer.

Music