Tokyo Jazz Scene
 

As a lover of jazz, it's always been fascinating to see how Japan has embraced the music style, and I'd love to take in the scene while in Tokyo. I've looked on Tripadvisor for the top clubs and bars, but wanted to see if any folks here had some insight or tips they'd like to share. Thanks in advance!

Blue Note Tokyo and Cotton Club are the two key venues. Fantastic shows most seasons. Sometimes there are artists performing other places in Japan also so it is also worth looking at sites of specific artists you know may be touring.

Let me know of there is a site you want looked at in Japanese.

My favorite is Body and Soul in Aoyama. Old school but vibrant.

BODY&SOUL

First, get yourself a copy of this excellent book: https://www.dukeupress.edu/blue-nippon/

Next, check out some of the old jazz kissatens like Eagle Café and Jazz Country (among the few remaining original postwar kissas) for espresso and bop records, along with newer shops like Eigakan, Seikatsu, Fat Mama, Jazz Olympus, etc. There was a time when these places were found throughout Tokyo, but they seem to be making a comeback in recent years. You can find a whole list of coffee shops at: http://tokyojazzsite.com/directory/

There are also a number of specialty bars that are run by avid collectors - there's a place outside of Central Tokyo called "Hakuraku 10x10" that's owned by an obsessive Max Roach fan; another named "Grauers" in Chiyoda-ku is stacked with original RLP (Riverside label) records, and so on... These places are typically small 6-8 seat counters where customers can sip rare bourbon/whiskeys and dig HiFi grooves on some truly impressive vintage audiophile rigs. One that I've been meaning to check out, and is on the list for our forthcoming trip, is called Tamahiko Bar (BAR 玉彦) -- https://www.facebook.com/ikebukurotamahiko/
The owner used to have an excellent YouTube channel. Others that I have not been to, but seem interesting and worth exploring, include Bunca, Big Boy, Jazz Nutty, Milestone and JBS (Jazz Blues Soul). There's also Junc de Cote Cote which bills itself as a jazz/soul bar.

As far as live venues go, the ones that caught my attention were:
Organ Jazz Club for Hammond B3 groups
Black Sun Jazz Club (named after a great 1964 Koreyoshi Kurahara flick about a jazz-obsessed Japanese drifter who meets a black American GI on the lam w/ a killer soundtrack - (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff3JoZZWBck)
And lastly, The Pit Inn.

I tend to prefer smaller venues that book local combos / feat. weekly residencies and I get the sense that places like Blue Note and Cotton Club are a bit more commercial/touristy. If you've been to the Blue Note on W 3rd, you should get the idea... that's just not really my scene.

I'm more of a Village Vanguard kinda guy...

https://scontent.fsjc1-3.fna.fbcdn.n...46&oe=5B409C34
;)
BTW, I'm sure you're aware that there are some GREAT record shops in Tokyo as well...

There are also a number of tiny cubby sized jazz-themed bars in Shinjuku's Golden Gai district, like Jazz Bar Baltimore, that might be worth exploring. The biggest appeal of these places is that due to their size (and the $8-10 door cover and expensive pours) you'll end up spending a good part of your evening mixing with other enthusiasts and aficionados, so it can be a lot of fun if you're able to communicate with the bartender and other patrons. Your best bet is to just wander through the narrow maze-like alleyways until you find the 'right' atmosphere. Don't bother showing up before 9:30-10pm though, as most shops won't be open yet.

This is an interesting point. On a similar note, I find that in Austria I have far more peers that prefer classical to other genre than anywhere else in the world I travel.

I think the homogeneity of the Japanese market causes greater size chunks of the market to be allocated to a given genre. In the US with all the various ethnic groups, income levels and the use of music to express the sentiments if entire segments of society, it seems we are much more fragmented.

Thanks Oliver for all the knowledge about this and the book post! Quite impressive!

Apparently Tokyo boasts one of the largest flamenco scenes outside of Spain and publishes the world's only monthly magazine...

There's a famous Golden Gai flamenco bar called Rincon Nana that we're going to be visiting this upcoming trip: =TOP= of NaNaSite2016

My wife's a flamenco dancer (she spent a year living/studying in Barcelona) and she's really looking forward to checking it out.


Another bar I've been meaning to check out: BAR BOSSA

My pleasure! Hope you have a great trip!

If you enjoy classical or just want a bit of respite from the teeming pace of the city, I strongly suggest checking out Meikyoku Kissa Lion in Shibuya for an "only in Japan" kind of experience. It's quite surreal. It was est. in 1926, scorched in WWII air raids, and rebuilt in the 1950s in gothic style architecture that somehow transports you from present-day Tokyo to 1940s bombed out Berlin... it's as if you've just stepped off the busy side streets of Shibuya and entered into some sort of ruinous post-war underground European art cafe run by an eccentric Japanese baroque music lover! He serves only two menu items: coffee and something called a milk cream, which is sort of like a frothy hot egg cream and it's surprisingly good. The atmosphere inside is church-like with rows of cushioned pews covering the ground level and balconies on the upper accessed by a very narrow and winding old staircase. The acoustics inside the room are just incredible. Apart from the music emanating from the vintage Hi-Fi speakers, there is absolute silence throughout the building- total serenity! The owner constantly shuffles through his vast record collection at the front of the room, tinkers with the amps, drops the needle on a record and then quietly introduces the music by whispering in Japanese through a hushed microphone, almost as if you were listening to a classical radio station. It's very soothing and there were many Japanese college students spread out in various nooks, deep in study. It's just a really unusual setting to happen upon in the middle of Tokyo... I highly recommend checking it out; it's a great way to spend an hour or two on a rainy afternoon.

Some photos I took w/ my phone camera a few years ago... looking down at the beautiful 3D speaker setup from the upper mezzanine:

https://scontent.fsjc1-3.fna.fbcdn.n...b1&oe=5B0D80A0

https://scontent.fsjc1-3.fna.fbcdn.n...5b&oe=5B38342D

And from ground level...

https://scontent.fsjc1-3.fna.fbcdn.n...8e&oe=5B4C7834

https://scontent.fsjc1-3.fna.fbcdn.n...02&oe=5B0C0AC1

No Blue Note and Cotton Club are not touristy. Just polished. Ronnie Scott's is a close comparison. Great rooms, great sound and always have a selection of fantastic and top tier acts. The smaller places get mostly local talent or second tier overseas talent and I am not looking for a deal, just talent. Locals are too stiff on average and I find the play to be uncomfortably tight. Go see Benny Green and then see any local talent and you'll know what I mean. A great room is a only great when a great act is playing. I am about the music not the antique or gritty nature of a place. Not a college student scraping by anymore. :)

NY clubs are so varied and fun, and for that matter Boston is the same way. But in both paces you have insanely great talent chasing even better talent and so it is far less of a crapshoot than it is here.
The best idea for a show anywhere and even more so in Tokyo is to choose the act not the venue.

I do love classical but in proper venues. My favorite is the Musikverein in Vienna. I also love Suntory Hall here. This is the level of professionalism I like best.

Respite from the busy pace of Tokyo? No thanks. I live here in large part because of the buzz. Born a city kid and have always felt the same way.

John Rain could give you a lot of good recommendations regarding the Jazz scene in Tokyo.

But then he'd have to kill you.

I haven't watched this yet, but a friend just sent me the following link: