Jazz Arrange Version: Chrono Cross Music Review
Sean Schafianski released Jazz Arrange Version: Chrono Cross on November 18, 2024, coinciding with the game’s 25th birthday (its Japanese launch date was November 18, 1999). Alongside being a well-timed release to celebrate the game’s anniversary, this album also comes approximately ten years after Schafianski’s Chrono Trigger: Jazz Arrange Version, one of the earliest albums in his jazz arrange series.
For those unfamiliar with Schafianski’s previous jazz albums, I want to state that the arrangement and production of these albums are nearly the same quality as Square Enix’s own jazz series. Certainly, Schafianski is working with fewer musicians and a lower budget, but when you listen to his recordings, it’s clear that he provides competent arrangements, solid performances, and mixing/mastering that soars above other independent releases. I have been able to count on Schafianski to bring this quality to each and every release, and I find Jazz Arrange Version: Chrono Cross to be no exception.
I give so much credit to Schafianski because this album is almost entirely his performances. There are two guest guitarists: Steve Rothstein and Kyle Thompson. They bring a lot to this album, as the Chrono Cross OST has so much important acoustic guitar work throughout that bringing some capable players to the scene was vital for the album. However, Schafianski handles everything else: all of the saxophone solos are his own, and the rest is all done via keyboard (also Schafianski). The sampled percussion on this album is so good I could have sworn these were real recordings. I’ve been fooled!
I also have to credit Schafianski for taking some risks with his song selections! There are many great songs to arrange from Chrono Cross, and yes, Schafianski picked a couple of the popular tracks. But he also took on the silly, almost throwaway piece “Optimism” and the underrated “Dragoons.” He also chose to take on “Dreams of the Ages,” a fantastic piece from disc three that also served as BGM for one of the early gameplay trailers from 1999. This is the piece that weaves the main Chrono Trigger and Radical Dreamers theme medleys into a bouncy, inspirational piece. Excellent choice. The guitar and synth keyboard solos are top-tier. What a great ending piece!
I definitely appreciate that this album is not stuck in the typical jazz arrange format of A – B – A (theme, variation, return to theme), where all the solos are invariably in the middle. For many tracks, the arrangement features the solos playing out to the end of the piece (“Frozen Flame,” “Chronopolis,” “Dreams of the Ages”). In others, improvisation is present heavily throughout, making for an excellent listen (“Dragoons”). In “Chronomantic,” the stated melody (guitar) is propped up with a soft jazz trap set, walking bass, and vibraphone. Rather than let guitar hold the stage for the improvisation, we get an extended vibraphone solo (via keyboard).
Notably absent, to my frustration, are “Scars of Time,” “The Sea of Eden,” and “Bound by Fate.” However, I’m not certain I can fault Sean Schafianski for excluding these pieces. “Scars of Time” is perhaps better suited to a larger ensemble, and the latter two tracks are slower pieces that might not translate well to the specific jazz format throughout this album. On the other hand, Schafianski did manage to bring an incredible lounge jazz arrangement of “The Girl Who Stole the Stars,” letting reed organ take the lead. A similar approach may have worked for “Bound by Fate” in particular.
Available across multiple digital outlets for a reasonable price, Jazz Arrange Version: Chrono Cross offers simultaneous reminders that Yasunori Mitsuda’s original Chrono Cross score is a timeless masterpiece and that Schafianski’s ongoing Jazz Arrange series continues to offer excellence amidst a sea of independent cover albums—both for Chrono Cross and VGM in general.
