Scott Sigl's Zelda Project and Det Car Sid
Nostalgia Fishtown
14 Jefferson St.
Philadelphia
Sept. 8, 2026
On Sept. 8, Nintendo announced the 40th anniversary celebration of its landmark franchise The Legend of Zelda. With its story focused on a swordsman named Link and his journey to rescue Princess Zelda, the game ushered players into an immersive world of fantasy and magic. Perhaps it was a grand coincidence or an intentional positioning, but the same night that Nintendo made their announcement, pianist and composer Scott Sigl came to Nostalgia Fishtown to pay homage to Zelda’s legacy and the music that shaped the classic game.
While 1986’s The Legend of Zelda got the franchise rolling, it was 1998’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that expanded the game’s world and introduced the now-beloved score by Japanese composer Koji Kondo. Scott Sigl’s Zelda Project reimagines Kondo’s epic compositions as dynamic jazz compositions for a six-piece jazz ensemble. Philly-based psychedelic rock quartet Det Cart Sid (distracted backwards) kicked things off with a mighty set of soulful shoegaze. Det Cart Sid songs like “Age of Aquarius” and “Heaven On Earth” struck a perfect balance between wavy ambient textures, oceanic guitar parts and guitarist/singer Ron Howard’s lovely falsetto. During the short intermission, Sigl and his band set up and tuned while a playlist of high-energy jazz fusion cuts blared over the house speakers.
As musically complex as it was heartfelt, Sigl’s Zelda Project’s set breathed new life into Kondo’s music. Playing while cut scenes from Zelda were projected behind them, the performance felt like we’d been dropped into a never-ending video game world with a band of jazz virtuosos providing the score. As players, Sigl and his bandmates are capable of great force and profound sensitivity. Following a winding, 20 minute medley of music from The Legend of Zelda, Sigl took a moment to read a poem. After confessing that he is not the biggest video game head, Sigl’s poem detailed how his growing appreciation for the medium has enriched his musicianship and strengthened his relationships with his young music students. At the heart of Sigl’s poem, a few lines seemed to get to the heart of the project and the care that went into it: “It takes courage to go out on a limb for what you love, but you have to go out on a limb because that’s where the fruit is.”
