For years, I¡¯ve been meaning to read ¡°Blue Giant,¡± the manga by Shinichi Ishizuka about a young man from rural Japan striving to become the world¡¯s greatest jazz musician. One thing always stops me, though: In comics, you can¡¯t hear the music.
This particular problem has now been solved with a film adaptation of ¡°Blue Giant,¡± out in theaters tomorrow, and here¡¯s the good news: The soundtrack, composed by jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara, is fiery, bold and sounds great pumping through cinema speakers. In other aspects, however, ¡°Blue Giant¡± is less than supreme.
The film¡¯s main character is Dai (voiced by Yuki Yamada), an 18-year-old from northern Japan who hops on the first bus to Tokyo following his high school graduation to try to break into the jazz world. A self-taught tenor sax player, he¡¯s honed his chops through enough hours of practice to make Malcolm Gladwell blush. A combination of those skills and an almost painfully earnest attitude earn him quick allies, including the owner of a local jazz bar and an arrogant wunderkind pianist named Sawabe (Shotaro Mamiya). Dai and Sawabe form a trio alongside Dai¡¯s roommate and drum neophyte Tamada (Amane Okayama) and the three start gigging around town, earning fans and gaining the attention of promoters and record label executives.
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