Blue Giant is a jazz-themed work serialized in Big Comic! It has become a hot topic due to its realism and intensity, which makes it seem as if you can actually hear the sounds, and it features the names of famous jazz musicians who actually exist. We've compiled a list of jazz songs and famous people whose names appear in Blue Giant! For songs that appear in the work, the song or album name will be listed on the right.
Miles Davis (May 26, 1926 - September 28, 1991)
As an American jazz trumpeter, he is known in Japan as the "Emperor of Modern Jazz." He has always been at the forefront of the jazz world, expressing various genres of jazz according to the times, and has led the jazz world. His name appears in the first episode of the first volume of Blue Giant. He was introduced to the protagonist Dai by a friend when he didn't know anything about jazz.
Charlie Parker (August 29, 1920 - March 12, 1955)
American jazz musician, alto saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known as the "father of modern jazz" for creating the bebop style, which is said to be the prototype of modern jazz. His name is introduced in volume 1 of Blue Giant along with Miles Davis.
Bill Evans (August 16, 1929 - September 15, 1980)
He is a representative pianist of modern jazz and has influenced many pianists. His music is extremely well-known and popular among jazz music, and he is extremely well-known. His name was mentioned in the first volume along with Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.
Hank Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986)
An American tenor player and composer. A tenor saxophonist who was active in the fields of hard pop and soul jazz. However, his image as a player during his active years was strong as mediocre, and his playing was not highly praised until after his death. In Blue Giant, Dai was trying to borrow a recording from a friend.
Johnny Griffin (April 24, 1928 - July 25, 2008) / The Little Giant
A tenor saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He has performed with many famous jazz players, and is famous for Blue Note's "Blowing Sessions." In the first volume of Blue Giant, he practiced songs from the album, The Little Giant.
John Coltrane (September 23, 1926 - July 17, 1967) / Moment's notice / Countdown / Impressions
Modern jazz saxophone player from the United States. Although he passed away at the young age of 40, he left a big name as a jazz giant and had a great influence on the jazz world. His name appears frequently in the story, with Moment's Notice being a song that Dai introduced to Sanrinmai, Countdown being a song that Dai performed at the school festival, and Impressions being a song that he performed with Kawakita, who joined JASS after it was formed.
Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 - April 25, 1990)
A famous tenor saxophonist in modern jazz. A well-known jazz player, he was also active as an actor, and in 1986 he played the lead role in the film "Round Midnight," for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 - July 6, 1971)
An African-American jazz trumpeter, nicknamed Satchmo. He is also known as a pioneer of jazz vocals, and his representative songs include "What a Wonderful World" and "Hello, Dolly."
Dizzy Gillespie (October 21, 1917 - January 6, 1993)/Nights in Tunisia
An African-American trumpet player. He is said to have created the bebop style together with Charlie Parker, and is an artist who is said to have made a major contribution to jazz history with his trademark curved trumpet. Blue Giant is a song that Dai played when he met his teacher Yui, and Yui's overwhelming performance led him to decide to teach Dai.
Art Blakey (October 11, 1919 - October 16, 1990)/Moanin
A particularly famous jazz drummer in Japan, who was nicknamed "Dump Truck with Broken Brakes" and "Niagara Roll" for his intense drum beats. He is a great Japanophile, and the story of how he became a Japanophile is famous. His signature song, Moanin, was hummed by Dai to scare away bears in the second volume of Blue Giant, and his name also appeared in other songs, and Tamada, who was a beginner drummer, listened to it many times and used it as reference.
Jackie McLean (May 17, 1931 - March 31, 2006)
Jazz saxophonist from New York, USA. A passionate performer, he participated in the recording of Miles Davis' album "Dig" with Sonny Rollins and Art Blakey, and has since performed with Miles several times.
Sonny Rollins/Newk's Fadeaway (September 7, 1930 -)
A jazz saxophonist from the United States who has influenced many musicians. He is known for his mohawk cut and his bold and impactful improvisations, and he has had such an impact that Dai dressed up as Rollins and performed on stage at the school festival in Blue Giant. Newk's Fadeaway is the song Dai performed at his first live show after forming JASS.
Thelonious Monk (October 10, 1917 - February 17, 1982)
An American jazz pianist, he is famous for his unique improvisation style and for composing jazz standards. Monk's unique style, which can only be described as his own melody, was a man who could only be described as a genius. However, he was said to have suffered from a mental illness that was unfamiliar at the time. Nevertheless, his contributions to jazz were enormous, and he is counted as one of the giants of jazz.
Clifford Brown (October 30, 1930 - June 26, 1956) / Cherokee
An American jazz trumpeter, he was an early hard bop player and was highly praised for his band with Max Roach. Many famous jazz musicians appreciated his talent, but he died at the young age of 25 in a traffic accident on June 26, 1956. The news of his death shocked many people in the jazz world.
Cherokee
Cherokee was composed by the Englishman Ray Noble and became especially famous through Charlie Barnett's performance. Later, Clifford Brown and Charlie Parker also performed this song, which is famous. Today, it is considered a high-tempo challenging piece. In Blue Giant, Dai performed this song as revenge for the bad words he received from the old man before moving to Tokyo.
Sonny Stitt (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982)
American jazz saxophonist. He is known as Charlie Parker's most outstanding disciple and has left behind many songs. He is also said to have had a major influence on the late John Coltrane.
Herbie Hancock (April 12, 1940 - ) / Maiden Voyage
A jazz pianist from the United States who is still active today, he is a leading figure in jazz who has expressed a variety of jazz, and an interview with the author Shinichi Ishizuka is included in the 7th volume of the Blue Giant comics. Maiden Voyage was a song requested by an old man who appeared from a houseboat, and it was also the first song for which Dai was paid.
Elvin Jones (September 9, 1927 - May 18, 2004)
American jazz drummer. He has performed with famous musicians such as Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, and Charles Mingus, and has been active in John Coltrane's group since 1960. He is also known as a Japanophile, and became one after receiving support from Japanese musicians when he had trouble visiting Japan.
McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938-) / Fly With the Wind
American jazz pianist, famous for his quartet with John Coltrane, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones. He is a pianist who has produced a variety of songs to this day. Blue Giant is the first song that Oh, Sawabe, and Tamada performed together.
Summary of real jazz and famous people
We have introduced real jazz and musicians whose names appear in Blue Giant. Nowadays, you can listen to jazz on the internet, so if you give it a listen, a new world may open up to you. Listening to real jazz will help you immerse yourself more in the world of the work, so why not give it a listen?
