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As a kid, I loved playing video games. Before kids started playing Roblox and Minecraft, we had our PlayStations. My favorite game was Crash Bandicoot. As an 8-year-old, there was nothing cooler than a bandicoot saving the world. Every year, I’d beg my parents to get me the newest Crash game for my birthday, and thankfully they always did.

Everything changed one day when my dad rented a game called Grand Theft Auto III. I’m still not sure why he rented it, but I’m glad he did. He let me play it, and suddenly I was stealing cars, running from the cops, and causing complete chaos. Mind you, I was only 10 or 11 years old. Looking back, I can’t believe he actually let me play it. He eventually bought the game, and after about a year, I finally beat it. Just like that, I had a new favorite game.

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When I found out a new GTA game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, was coming out the next year, I begged my dad to get it for me (I knew my mom wouldn’t), and he did. Again, considering the content of the game, I can’t believe he bought it for me. Years later, I asked him why, and he simply said that because I got good grades and stayed out of trouble, he didn’t mind. Vice City was even better than GTA III. It also took me about a year to beat, and once again, I had a new favorite game.

Two years later, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released. I was a freshman in high school, and everyone was talking about it. If you didn’t have the game, you were considered a loser. Compared to the previous GTA games, San Andreas was on another level. The map was bigger, there was more to do, and I spent nearly two years completing everything.

I had no idea that this game would end up changing my taste in music forever.

At first, I was focused on finishing the missions as quickly as possible. But somewhere along the way, I started slowing down. Instead of rushing from one mission to the next, I’d steal a car, pick a direction, and just drive. Sometimes I’d cruise through Los Santos. Other times I’d take the long drive into San Fierro or Las Venturas with no destination in mind. That’s when I really started listening to the radio.

There was one song on Master Sounds 98.3 that kept grabbing my attention. I didn’t know any cheats back then, so I couldn’t just skip to it. I’d keep driving until it came back on, and sometimes it felt like forever. If I was on my way to a mission and the song started playing, the mission could wait. I wasn’t changing the station.

How could a song with no lyrics be this mesmerizing?

The song was “Nautilus” by Bob James.

Back then, I had no idea how important “Nautilus” would become in hip-hop sampling. I just knew it was the best thing I’d ever heard. It sounded futuristic, smooth, mysterious, and unlike anything I’d ever listened to before.

After that, I went on LimeWire and downloaded every Bob James song I could find. I became obsessed.

A little while later, once I started using YouTube, I searched for “songs that sound like Bob James,” and hundreds of recommendations appeared. One artist led to another, and before I knew it, I had fallen down a jazz fusion rabbit hole.

By the time I was 20, I had a list of 20 or 30 jazz fusion artists that I loved. Then one day, YouTube recommended a video called Flying Beagle by Himiko Kikuchi. I clicked on it without expecting much.

Within minutes, I knew I had found something special. It was the most amazing album I’d ever heard. That was also the moment I realized there was an entire world of jazz fusion outside the United States.

After Flying Beagle, I listened to Himiko Kikuchi’s entire discography, and she became my new favorite artist (sorry, Bob). That led me down yet another rabbit hole: Japanese jazz fusion.

Fast forward to today. My wife gave me a record player for Christmas, and that’s when I started collecting jazz fusion and jazz funk vinyl. Every record on my shelf reminds me of that kid driving around San Andreas, waiting for one song to come back on the radio.

Through this blog, I’ll be sharing my collection, telling the stories behind the records, and recommending albums for anyone looking to get into the genre. I’m by no means an expert. I’m still discovering new artists all the time; if you have recommendations of your own, I’d love to hear them.

Looking back, it’s funny how one video game changed my taste in music forever. I thought I was just playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I never imagined it would introduce me to jazz fusion, lead me to Japanese artists like Himiko Kikuchi, or inspire me to start collecting vinyl.

Now, every time I put on a record, I’m reminded of that kid driving around Los Santos, waiting for “Nautilus” to come back on the radio.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to the journey. 😊