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Jazz Pianist Marcus Roberts Creates Songs About Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and More

Have you ever wondered what Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump would sound like personified through music? For Marcus Roberts, a jazz pianist, coining a jazz tune for the bipartisan candidates is just a part of his creative process.

Having premiered "Feel the Bern," Mr. Roberts found that writing a composition inspired by the Vermont senator was punctuated on small details that spoke to Sanders' campaign. Talking to the New Yorker, Mr. Roberts said:

"It's to show the different components of Bernie Sanders's personality. When the piano does it, it's laid-back and it's kind of cool and dignified. When the tenor plays it, it starts to get a little more rambunctious. You know, maybe that's when he tells Hillary, 'I don't really give a damn about hearing about your e-mails anymore.' It becomes kind of aggressive, and there's a lot of fire, like, we're going to get to this. I think that's why Sanders appeals to young people."

Perhaps the "artful smear" that Hillary posited onto Sanders' campaign against her can be equated to a musical process, but Mr. Roberts' compositions on the Presidential hopefuls doesn't end there. The piano player notes that he is blind, so creating these jazz songs is a matter of relating their vocal presence to a figure in his head.

Roberts notes the differing personalities, temperaments, voice, rate of speed all contribute to the final product and the only details, really, that the musician has to go on.

Other songs in his Presidential canon are "It's My Turn" (Hillary Clinton), "I Did Chop Down that Cherry Tree" (Ben Carson) and the seminal "Making American Great Again (All By Myself)" (Donald Trump).

Don't take our word for it. Preview Marcus Roberts below and be sure to keep in mind the depth of the political frontrunners when watching the next debate.

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