There’s a long tradition in jazz of reinterpreting tunes from other genres, but Tacoma’s Cliff Colon might be the first jazzman inspired by a video game.

Many rock, pop and Broadway tunes have become jazz standards. The Beatles’ “Yesterday” is one example. “My Funny Valentine,” a 1937 Rodgers and Hart Broadway tune, is another. Even television and movie themes have inspired jazz players.

But Colon, a saxophonist, could be the first to see the possibilities in the soundtrack for a video game. He and his group have recorded an album called “ContraBand” and will play music from it in a 6 p.m. dinner show at Jazzbones on Sunday.

“I wanted to make something like new standards,” Colon said. “Most of the standards we play at clubs and private parties, they’re all songs that probably my grandma remembered … not things that someone who’s 30 years old like me would know where it came from.”

But a large part of the crowd at a recent show at Tula’s in Seattle knew where the “ContraBand” music came from, Colon said.

“I’d say half the people who came came not because they knew who we were but because they’d heard the music was from the game Contra,” Colon said.

For the record, Contra was a 1988 side-scrolling game for the original Nintendo system. Colon, and other players, logged a lot of hours with the popular shoot’em-up.

“I thought Contra had one of the cooler soundtracks because the songs were kind of different from each other,” Colon said. “There was a code called the Konami code, and – if you had that – it was easy to beat in 30 or 40 minutes and you got to hear all the songs.”

Not being familiar with the game, it’s hard to say what Colon has done to the tunes. It’s easy to say, however, that the end result is highly satisfying.

With Colon on tenor sax, J. Charles on alto sax, Chuck Kistler on bass, D’Vonne Lewis on drums, Frank Seeberger on guitar and Eric Verlinde on Rhodes piano and Hammond organ, “ContraBand” offers meaty melodic jazz with great solos, good rhythm and keyboard work and terrific horn harmonies between Colon and Charles.

“This isn’t smooth jazz or mainstream jazz,” said Colon, a PLU grad. “It’s more of a modern-jazz sound, but I was hoping to kind of reinvent the sound. I try to bring young people out for jazz, but if we’re just playing old standards like ‘Stella by Starlight,’ young people aren’t aware of the songs or don’t have an appreciation of them. I wanted to try something that the younger people would like.”

But Colon isn’t trying to spoon-feed anyone. Parts of “ContraBand” will challenge listeners and were a challenge for the players. “Waterfall” and “Alien Layer” are two of the most interesting tracks on the album.

“Waterfall” gives Colon and his crew a chance to have fun with a song that’s “like a modal, minor blues that some bebop guys would play,” he said. “And the time signature in ‘Alien Layer’ is the hardest I’ve ever played. The form of the song is a measure of five, a measure of six, a measure of five, a measure of six, three measures of five, eight measures of six and two measures of seven.

“I question if the composer was on something when he wrote it, but it’s fun to play … when you can just feel it and not have to count. You’ve got to know this stuff to play it.”

But you don’t have to know the game Contra to enjoy the “ContraBand” music. Colon and his cohorts have crafted a novel album that can be enjoyed on several levels.

“Even Miles (Davis) and (John) Coltrane did stuff from things like ‘The Sound of Music.’” Colon said. “But I don’t know of any jazz guys doing stuff from video games yet. I’m hoping I’m the first one.”

Admission to the all-ages show will be $5; 253-396-9169.

Folk favorites: Tacoma music maven Chris Lunn has two treats lined up for South Sound folk fans. Jim Page and Teresa Tudury will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at Olympia’s Traditions Cafe and at 7 p.m. Sunday in a 100-year-old home near 26th and Alder.

The wise, witty and politically aware Page is a Northwest legend and popular in many parts of the world. The Bay Area’s Tudury is “… a star in the making,” according to the Los Angels Times. The Hollywood Reporter calls her “… a simmering Mother Lode of singing, songwriting, acting and madcap comedy talent.”

Tickets for the Olympia show are $12 general and $8 for low-income and students; 360-705-2819. Seating is limited for the Tacoma show. Tickets are $15 at 253-863-6617.

Memphis bound: The South Sound Blues Association will send the Michal Miller Band and Son Jack Jr. to the International Blues Competition in Memphis next February, and a fundraiser is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at Jazzbones.

The performers will be, in order, Son Jack Jr., the Red Hot Blues Sisters, the Wright Brothers, the Randy Oxford Band, the Brown and Blues Band with Doug Skoog and the Michal Miller Band. Among the scheduled guest artists will be Maia Santell and Mariano Silver.

Admission will be $12 general and $7 for SSBA members. Everyone is encouraged to bring canned or boxed food for the Food Lifeline.

HALF NOTES

 • Jambalaya has Doug Skoog and Blues Alliance tonight.

 • Versatile music maker Steve Stefanowicz will be at the Mandolin Café at 1 p.m. Saturday, and jazzman Kareem Kandi will play there at 3 p.m. Sunday.

 • The Spar features blues and rock from Billy Roy Danger & the Rectifiers on Sunday.

 • The Swiss will be bluesy with Son Jack Jr. on Monday.

 • You can catch the Randy Oxford Band at the Muckleshoot Casino on Tuesday.

rick.nelson@thenewstribune.com