Crystal Rebone (front), Joel Baer (back). Midlane Esports, 7/25/25.
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By Dominic Guanzon
Friday, 7/25/25
Finding a spot that has bebop lines playing in the front, and Counter-Strike 2 playing in the back is a hard ask. And yet, that is what jazz fans and gamers alike found during the third iteration of the Video Game Music (VGM) Jam Chicago at Midlane Esports in Logan Square.
Bassist Crystal Rebone led the house set with the debut of her new group, Crystal’s Chronicles, featuring Jim Buennig on tenor sax, Lara Driscoll on keyboard, and Joel Baer on drums. A dedicated Japanese roleplaying game (JRPG) enthusiast, Rebone dedicated her entire setlist to covers from the gaming genre, from a funk version of “Johnny’s Theme” from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, to “Harbor Town” from Tales of Symphonia.
“I do notice a big influence of jazz-type harmonies and style [in JRPG music]. At least in most of the tunes I picked! ‘Junes Theme,’ for example, is really close to ‘St. Thomas’ by Sonny Rollins. Or how almost all the Mario songs pull from jazz influences.”
An experienced educator, Rebone employs her love of VGM into her teaching work.
“I really like using that as educational tools. Get students learning melodies that know with harmony that is like that of other genres and prepares them for other types of music.
But overall, I think music is all related in some way and there isn’t a huge difference. It is all the same notes in the end!”
The novelty of hearing VGM played by live musicians proved itself again and again, with regular cheers from the crowd every time a song started and was recognized. The “Ecruteak City Theme” from Pokémon: Gold and Silver proved a fan favorite, with one attendee whipping around with her drink, jumping up and down, and proclaiming her love for the song upon its announcement.
Rebone’s favorite room response was during “Sophisticated Fight” from The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.
“No one really plays the Legend of Heroes games,” explains Rebone, “so when I get a strong reaction from those songs, it is really awesome! Honestly, most of my jazz gigs never get strong reactions to the tunes I am playing so I was just taking in all the cheers!”
Crystal Rebone (back), Jim Buennig (foreground). Midlane Esports, 7/25/25.
Beyond the fun of the cover however, the expertise of the musicians was on full display, such as when was Buennig spitting out sixteenths on the aforementioned “Sophisticated Flight.” His insertion of a quote from Chick Corea’s “Spain” tied it all together, with notable exclamations from the audience. He later brought that dense style to “Queen’s Blood” from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
Buennig is also Rebone’s husband of less than two months.
“It has been a whirlwind for sure!” Exclaims Rebone. “Jim plays some games. He is more of a Mario and old SNES games [person]. It wasn’t as big of an influence in his life as me though. He really pushed the idea that I should do VGM. He has helped transcribe a few of them!
Despite their new chapter together, they’ve been quite in tune for some time.
“We have actually been playing together off and on for about 14 years! We met when we were freshmen in college at Western Illinois University. It has been fun getting to play more with him! And I think he enjoys playing non-jazz gigs as well. We both got a bit burned out on all of that.”
Lara Driscoll, who was on a previous gig with Rebone playing much of the same tunes, may not necessarily play any of the games she covered. Still, she understood the assignment, bringing a quirky blues to the aforementioned “Johnny’s Theme.”
Patrons watching the concert. Midlane Esports, 7/25/25.
Joel Baer joins not just as the drummer, but as a VGM connoisseur and co-leader of Chicago’s Blueshift Big Band. Together with guitarist Chris Parsons, they got their start in 2017 paying tribute to big band’s history covering the greats like Count Basie. The following year, they began incorporating original VGM arrangements utilizing their deep knowledge of both genres.
Now, they have become the city’s premiere VGM cover band, with three albums under their belt, two monthly residencies at Andy’s and Fulton Street Collective, and exciting projects that were shared off-the-record. For now, he’s playing “Junes Theme” from Persona 4.
“I had been sitting in with [Blueshift],” tells Rebone. “That was the first time I really got to play VGM. Then he asked me to do a gig downtown where it was a VGM trio and I had a lot of fun. I spent so much time in jazz school that you don’t really get a chance to figure out what YOU want to do as an artist since you are constantly playing things for other people. Playing in his group made me wake up to the idea that VGM might be what I should have been doing this whole time!”
Concert-goers were there for a variety of reasons: For the music, for the community, and in some cases, just to play games with some jazz happening in the background, as evidenced by the dozen or so gamers in the rows of computers in the back. In one instance, a child and two adults were glued to a TV playing Mario Kart World. Its 200-track OST was also a topic of discussion among the crowd and the Chicago VGM Jam Discord.
Perhaps the biggest reason to celebrate was the release of the latest album from the 8-Bit Big Band. T New York-based VGM phenomenon has become the standard-bearer for the subgenre, and was brought up in no less than three separate conversations.
After the house set, the jam began in ernest. Unlike most jazz jams, VGM is well-known, but not as well-played as Great American Songbook standards. The average vocabulary and dexterity of the players at Midlane may not be as high as, say, the Wednesday Night Fellowship at Hungry Brain in Bricktown, but the heart and the love for the music is stack overflowing.
Songs included “Sunshine Airport” from Mario Kart 8, “Title Screen” from Paper Mario, and “Candy’s Music Shop” from Donkey Kong 64, the latter of which had an extra dose of cheekiness as the players dug deep into the blues.
Finally, the night’s vocal tune was fan-favorite “Still Alive” from Portal, which had multiple sign-ups for the microphone. It was shared between local raver Javier and cosplayer Summer Rain in a duet, though the room eventually joined in as a whole.
Local VGM cover artist, streamer, and the owner of VGLeadSheets.com, Jeremiah “Jer” Roque, was spotted as well. He was able to livestream the event to his personal Twitch channel, allowing about 20 viewers to observe the night, including his part in the jam, from online. While his VODs are subscriber-only, he occasionally posts them on YouTube.
This is the fourth outing of the Chicago VGM Jam, founded by pianist Kevin Zhou and first launched in November of 2024. While he wasn’t able to make this one due to a conflict, he was able to lend his project to Rebone in an effort to keep the jam and community going.
Musicians during the jam. Midlane Esports, 7/25/25.
As of this writing, it’s unknown when the fifth jam will take place, but the announcement will be revealed on the Video Game Music Jam Chicago Instagram (@vgmjchicago), and of course, this being a video game group, a Discord. The latter currently sits at 60 members, but the amount of networking, music-loving, lead sheet-sharing, and video game-nerding-out is already punching above its weight.
When asked what her top JRPGs are, Rebone topped the list with Nier: Automata, followed by Persona 5 and Final Fantasy Remake/Rebirth.
As for dream sequels, “I think an Expedition 33 sequel, or more of a prequel, would be awesome. Just more background on the Painters or how all that came to be. I also am just counting down the days until the 3rd FF7 game comes out!!”
Crystal’s Chronicles is:
Produced by Barn Production Group
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