To experience anime and video game scores in person, in a venue usually reserved for classical music from the biggest names in the history of the form, can feel like getting away with something not entirely on the up and up. Kind of like breaking into Madison Square Garden to shoot a few hoops on the same floor that basketball legends made their names on. As more of these types of concerts get showcased, though, that feeling you’re getting treated to something special in a place not necessarily designed for you starts fading. Suddenly, that place starts feeling like a legitimate home for the anime and video game music performed in it.
And then, a legendary composer comes in and changes the very nature of the performance space, kicking down the doors for anyone to come in. This is what Japanese anime and video game composer Yoko Kanno did on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at New York City’s The Town Hall. The concert was named Yoko Kanno Live!. Performing alongside alto saxophonist Logan Richardson and his band Blues People Big Bang, Kanno prepared a night heavy on Cowboy Bebop (perhaps the score she’s known for the most) that also included selections from other anime such as Darker Than Black, Wolf’s Rain, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. This was Kanno’s first ever Town Hall concert.
A joyous tone was set from the moment she hit the stage. She joked with Richardson and his band, poked fun at her own English skills, and prompted the audience to sing or hum along if they so wished. Perhaps one of the most pleasantly unexpected aspects of her performance was her dancing. She enjoyed every single piece they played, and she danced away while simultaneously conducting the band.
Cowboy Bebop tunes included “COSMOS,” “PIANO BLACK,” “TANK!,” and “Gotta Knock a Little Harder.” The Town Hall’s amazing acoustics let each piece celebrate the influences driving the music. Bebop is an obvious musical strand, but sounds from 1960’s rock and roll fused with Japanese jazz came off even louder as the music allowed for a more nuanced appreciation of the mechanics operating behind it because it was isolated from the animated action.
Kanno’s mastery of tone and emotion in her scores rang through clearly in the other anime selections as well, especially with “lithium flower” from Ghost in the Shell. It was easy to catch just how distinct each work is from the other. It came down to the images they evoked. The anime that each piece corresponded to just started playing in your head when the music began. It spoke to the level of specificity involved in Kanno’s work, per project. No two anime scores will sound the same, though there’s something about them that lets listeners know they’re in Kanno territory. The blending of multiple influences to create a signature sound is certainly one of her most impressive qualities.
Richardson’s alto sax was a real force throughout the concert. There was an interesting approach to intensity that accentuated a certain feeling when it was called for, but it also seemed to play around with volume to the point the sax rightfully set itself apart as the concert’s leading instrument. Each intervention or accompaniment was expertly placed and played, and it allowed Richardson to become an equal partner that evening. He wasn’t just a skilled musician tasked with sticking to the script. He knew when to add that extra note or sequence to make sure the audience felt his presence.
Musicians Steve Conte and Scott Matthews made appearances as well to lend their voices to Ghost in the Shell and Wolf’s Rain selections. These kept the audience on their feet, infusing the proceedings with a sense of unpredictability that never disappointed. Kanno also brought in a group of strings that supported Richardson and his band. Sometimes, their sound was drowned out by the wind section, but it was never entirely left out of the performance. They still managed to let themselves be felt and they added extra complexity to Kanno’s dynamic work.
Yoko Kanno Live! was a resounding triumph that further cemented anime music as an expression that has as much right to be on The Town Hall stage as the classics that have been put there before it. Kanno and Richardson brought a clean and crisp sound that complimented the high energy and sense of fun the anime shows are known for. To an extent, Kanno and Richardson’s performance, their playfulness and refreshing unseriousness (as it pertains to the traditional rules of musical etiquette), resulted in a great big invitation to not just embrace pop culture scores as equally important as the classical cannon, but to have more fun with it. There’s no intention to argue that one is better than the other here. Quite the opposite. It’s about opening up the space to different experiences and different audiences. Kanno championed this very idea in her concert, and she broke down more than a few doors before the night was done.
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