The Blueshift Big Band concerts

About The Blueshift Big Band

The Blueshift Big Band is a Chicago jazz orchestra led by drummer Joel Baer and guitarist Chris Parsons. Its calling card is a serious-arrangement approach to music that usually lives outside the big-band canon: alongside standards, blues, and American songbook material, the group has built a substantial repertoire from video games. That makes its Chicago club dates useful for jazz listeners and soundtrack devotees alike.

From reading band to working book

Baer and Parsons founded the group in Chicago in 2017 after missing the energy of playing in a large ensemble. The founding setup centered on Baer’s drums and Parsons’s guitar, with friends and fellow local musicians recruited to play a book first drawn from Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, and Clayton-Hamilton charts. Its first full-length release, Joel Baer and Chris Parsons Present: The Blueshift Big Band, arrived in November 2020 on JeruJazz Records.

A catalog built around rearrangement

The 2020 self-titled debut established the band’s wide frame. Its repertoire moved from Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce” to Weather Report’s “Elegant People,” and it also included material associated with Rodgers and Hart and Ingrid Michaelson. The official release notes identify arrangements by Chicago writers including Bob Ojeda, Joe Clark, and Mike Pinto, plus a guest appearance from tenor saxophonist Mark Colby. WDCB’s Paul Abella singled out the record’s brass-heavy ensemble work and broad repertoire, a concise description of the project’s starting point.

In 2021, the single “Big Band Blues” shifted the band toward Chicago blues repertoire with guests Guy King on guitar and vocals, Jimmy Johnson on guitar, and Andrew Duncanson on vocals. Baer described the release as the first entry in a hoped-for series joining Chicago blues and the group’s big-band format. The collaboration adds a useful live-show clue: Blueshift’s concept makes room for singers and guitar-led blues material as well as instrumental jazz charts.

The 2022 album Joystick Jazz: The Blueshift Big Band Plays Iconic Video Game Hits became the group’s clearest recorded identity, released through iam8bit and built from jazz renditions of music associated with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Joystick Jazz, Vol. 2 followed in April 2024, then Joystick Jazz, Vol. 3: The Blueshift Big Band Plays Classic Mario Tunes in November 2024. The third volume narrowed the source material to Mario music across games including Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Odyssey, and Mario Kart 64, giving the series a franchise-focused chapter after two broader collections.

Guests, writers, and iam8bit

Blueshift’s recorded work comes through a network of Chicago arrangers and guest players, from Mark Colby on the debut to Guy King, Jimmy Johnson, and Andrew Duncanson on “Big Band Blues.” The important label move arrived with iam8bit, whose releases turned the Joystick Jazz concept into a continuing series. In 2026, the company also presented Blueshift as its in-house jazz group for a Persona anniversary album, connecting the band’s game-music work to a large established soundtrack catalog.

What the Chicago residency tells you

The clearest live record is local and regular. Blueshift holds a 2026 residency at Andy’s Jazz Club, returning on the second Monday of each month from April through December: nine scheduled visits. The August 10 appearance has two sets, 6:00–7:15 p.m. and 8:15–9:30 p.m., creating a 150-minute evening program across two 75-minute performances; Andy’s lists a $20 admission. A second 2026 residency at Robert’s Westside runs on second Wednesdays, while additional Chicago-area bookings include Ganz Hall, Hey Nonny, and three Fulton Street Collective dates. The documented repertoire focus is arrangements, including commissioned work by Chicago-area writers, standards, blues, American songbook material, and video-game music.

Current chapter

The current release is Persona 30th Anniversary Jazz Album, issued digitally on May 7, 2026 through iam8bit. It contains eight jazz covers, including “Last Surprise,” “Heaven,” and “Aria of the Soul”; vinyl fulfillment is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026. For CrowdMate readers, the immediate date is Monday, August 10 at Andy’s Jazz Club in Chicago, with the two listed sets at 6:00 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. The band’s official schedule places that show inside its monthly Andy’s residency.

Start here

Start with “Billie’s Bounce” for the debut’s traditional-jazz footing; “Big Band Blues” for the group’s Chicago blues collaborations; and “Last Surprise” for the current Persona-era example of its video-game arrangements.

Sources

1. About — Home — The Blueshift Big Band
2. Music — Home — The Blueshift Big Band
3. The Blueshift Big Band — Releases — MusicBrainz
4. Shows — Home — The Blueshift Big Band
5. 1st Set With The Blueshift Big Band — Andy's Jazz Club
6. Atlus Reveals Persona 30th Anniversary Jazz Album Available On Streaming Today Alongside Vinyl Preorders — Game Informer