Jazz Coffee Shops in Japan

[paul secor]

I've read about jazz coffee shops in Japan where people could listen to sides on great sound systems. Do they still exist in 2007? Does anyone have any memories/stories?

[catesta]

Starbucks?

[Late]

I have two friends living in Japan right now, and they've reported hearing a lot of good jazz in coffee shops — not just Blue Train or The Sidewinder, but Dizzy Reece, J.R. Monterose, and occasionally Ornette (though usually just the Atlantic sides), for example. I haven't heard specifically about good sound systems, but, check out this out, one of the shops my friend in Wakayama frequents serves their coffee drinks in paper cups (ugh) ... with original Blue Note covers printed on the paper (yeah!). He brought back an (empty) latte to show me — it had Clifford Brown's Memorial album on it. It was weird and cool at the same time.

On a somewhat related note, my friend in Koriyama says that the names "Sonny Clark" and "Lee Morgan," while not exactly being household names, are commonly recognized in music circles — on par with "Miles Davis," "John Coltrane," and other expected names to drop when it comes to jazz. Apparently there was an urban myth for a while that "Cool Struttin'" was something like an underground national anthem over there.

[alppila]

Those places are still around in force and they rock.

http://www.japanimprov.com/yotomo/jazzcafe.html

There was a good one mentioned in a Brotzmann FMP sleevenote - sorry, I forgot the names of both the cafe and the CD.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I just read an article about these shops with the gist of it being that they are rapidly closing up shop. They blame the iPod generation. I can't remember where I saw it, but it wasn't too long ago.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

IT IS AN INSULT THAT THEY WOULD PLAY LEE MORGAN IN A COFFEE HOUSE. HOW DARE THEY TRIVIALIZE LEE MORGANS SOULFUL TUNES TO "MUSIC TO SIP BY". I THOUGHT THE ORIENTAL PEOPLE **RESPECTED** BLUE NOTE, AND HARD BOP JAZZ ALL ALONG. I DID NOT KNOW THEY WERE PLAYING IT IN COFFEESHOPS. WHATS NEXT, THE EMINENT JJ JOHNSON VOL. 2 IN THE UNDERGROUND SUBWAY?

[wulfman]

There was a cozy litle place along the tracks by Meidaimae station where the master of the place brewed every coffee individually. Grinding the beans, heating the water and s-l-o-w-l-y pouring the water through the filter until the cup was around 3/4 full. Choosing your coffee beans and watching it made was an important part of the ritual. He also had a ton of vinyl in the shop and sitting there trying to figure out what was on the turntable at any given time was part of the experience. For me the jazz-kissa seemed to be a modern take on the Japanese tea house. Sit yourself down, forget about where you came from and where you are going.

Most of the guys who own these places are single guys who grew up in the 60's/early 70's. Japanese author Haruki Murakami used to be a jazz-kissa master.

[kenny weir]

I just read an article about these shops with the gist of it being that they are rapidly closing up shop. They blame the iPod generation. I can't remember where I saw it, but it wasn't too long ago.

Aktually, I'm not at all sure that Sonny Clark and Lee Morgan - or anything on Blue Note for that matter - are good enough to accompany coffee drinking.

Edited April 25, 2007 by kenny weir

[Chuck Nessa]

Curious if they serve Maxwell House or Folgers.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Well, there's a reason I read the article... it was in the Boston Globe, an on-line newspaper that I read with some regularity.

From http://www.boston.com/business/technology/...hnology+stories

iPod generation tunes out of Japanese jazz culture

By Aiko Wakao | January 28, 2007

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) - Once a haven for Japan's earliest jazz fans, cafe Chigusa is packing up its thousands of vinyl records.

"These days, kids don't listen to jazz, and they walk down the street with iPods, which makes the whole idea of 'place' irrelevant," says Michael Molasky, author of "The Jazz Culture of Postwar Japan."

Seventy-three years after first opening its doors, Chigusa, among the oldest and the most cherished of Japan's jazz coffee shops, has become a victim of the electronic revolution.

For its patrons, mostly male and alone, the cafe was a place of learning and of comfort. The unspoken rules, which they followed faithfully, included listening to the music in silence and waiting in turn to make a request, jotting it down on a scrap of paper. And no alcohol or snapping fingers.

"Filled with sound, smoke, and hundreds of records, jazz coffee houses used to be a space for young people who came looking for a proper understanding of the music," says Molasky, professor of Asian languages and literature at the University of Minnesota.

Chigusa enjoyed a glorious epoch in the 1960s and early 70s, when students and musicians gathered to listen to imported albums that were otherwise beyond their means.

"Now we only have about 10 regulars, who've been coming for years," says Masatomi Kaneshige, a 65-year-old retiree who often helps out at the cafe.

"Young people hardly come here. This place must look so strange and dark to them, with old men sitting quietly, sipping coffee and listening to vibrant jazz."

But on its last Saturday in business, the small cafe was full from before its official opening at noon. Around the six tiny tables sat 10 customers, half familiar faces and the rest newcomers -- both young and old -- who came for their first and last Chigusa experience after hearing about its closure.

Kaneshige gazed at the 40 record covers pasted on Chigusa's walls and pointed at the signed copy of Bill Evans Trio's best-selling "Waltz for Debby," a favorite, he recalls, of the cafe's founder, Mamoru Yoshida, who passed away 13 years ago.

Chigusa, soon to be replaced by a new building complex, was opened in 1937 by 20-year-old Yoshida, who fell in love with jazz at public dance halls and began collecting imported records.

World War Two brought great troubles for Yoshida, who had to hide his 6,000 records in his basement at a time when many jazz coffee houses were raided and most dance halls closed.

A U.S. air raid in 1945 destroyed the cafe along with all the vinyl albums. Yoshida reopened his cafe soon after the war, creating a refuge for occupying American soldiers and musicians who played at nearby U.S. bases.

They also brought Yoshida many of the latest 12-inch records, valuable additions to his new collection.

Chigusa, located in an old nightclub district in the port city of Yokohama, also became a classroom for young Japanese talent, such as pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and trumpeter Terumasa Hino -- now world-class artists - where they listened to rare John Coltrane LPs and learned to write scores.

"There was a huge jazz boom triggered by the arrival of French new wave movies and Hollywood films that used modern jazz," Molasky said.

"Suddenly, jazz coffee shops sprung up everywhere."

In the 1970s, even popular writer Haruki Murakami, then a student, set up his own jazz cafe, where he began work on his first novel. His later works are peppered with jazz references.

But then, rock and punk came along, as did CDs and better personal audio systems. The fever for jazz began to fade. After founder Yoshino passed away, his younger sister Takako Yoshida took over Chigusa. Lately, though, Takako, now 77, found it difficult to run the place on her own.

For long-time regulars like Masayuki Isozaki, everything from the walls yellowed by cigarette smoke to the simple menu of 500 yen ($4) coffee, tea and soda were the reasons that drew him to Chigusa almost every week since the age of 20.

"Last week at work, the thought of saying goodbye to all this brought tears to my eyes," said Isozaki, 54.

But jazz coffee houses are not only about what went before.

"Yes, times are changing and many old cafes are closing," said 36-year old Yusuke Miyamoto, who grew up in the neighbourhood. "But there are some new ones opening up and many young people like jazz too, including me, who picked up the alto saxophone after I started going to these coffee shops."

Yukio Saito, 31, started an online community for jazz coffee shop owners and customers in 1997. There are now around 100 listed on the Web site, which posts events and reviews.

"I am sure there are people out there who would love to take on a place like this, or at least, carry on the tradition," said 29-year old Megumi Saito who stepped into the cafe for the first time. "It has such a wonderful atmosphere."

[Dan Gould]

That story makes me wonder who is buying all those Japanese BN (and other label) reissues and whether the next generation of jazz fans will be as lucky to be able to get something from Japan if its worth the price. I doubt it will even be available, after the current generation of fans of jazz (and jazz coffee shops) dies off completely.

Edited April 26, 2007 by Dan Gould

[JohnJ]

Aktually, I'm not at all sure that Sonny Clark and Lee Morgan - or anything on Blue Note for that matter - are good enough to accompany coffee drinking.

Fighting talk Kenny! When did you go over to the dark side.

Anyway, it seems to be true that traditional coffee shops, in Tokyo at least, are rapidly disappearing while Starbucks, Tullys and their many Japanese equivalents are now everywhere. With over 600 stores Starbucks has been a great success here, despite their no smoking policy, which many had predicted would never work in Japan where drinking coffee has always been associated with smoking.

[kenny weir]

Aktually, I'm not at all sure that Sonny Clark and Lee Morgan - or anything on Blue Note for that matter - are good enough to accompany coffee drinking.

Fighting talk Kenny! When did you go over to the dark side.

Anyway, it seems to be true that traditional coffee shops, in Tokyo at least, are rapidly disappearing while Starbucks, Tullys and their many Japanese equivalents are now everywhere. With over 600 stores Starbucks has been a great success here, despite their no smoking policy, which many had predicted would never work in Japan where drinking coffee has always been associated with smoking.

Just tryin' to see if I kin get a rise out of CHEWY.

How 'bout: Hank Mobley is utterly insignificant compared to coffee in terms of enriching the human experience?

Edited April 26, 2007 by kenny weir

[robviti]

i find that this bean makes a particularly good brew.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

i second that jazz shrink

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Here's a photo I took of a place near my hotel that I used to go ito for tea after a hard day's tourism in 2002. It's called "Tavern in the valley" and is in Ueno, Tokyo.

The main business was obviously chocolates, cakes and ices, but there were also a few tables where you could sit and listen to the likes of Sonny Stitt and, most surprisingly, Pharoah Sanders.

And you could smoke there, too!

MG

[Quasimado]

The typical Jazz Coffee Shop (Jazz Kissa) is run by a jazz fan for a jazz loving clientel. People come to listen to jazz. They can make selections from the (often vast) lists that the owner/ manager has of the LPs and CDs on their shelves. Essentially there is little talking... there are usually jazz magazines to read... some customers bring books .. but most come to listen. Beer, wine and whisky and light food are generally available along with the coffee, which is normally brewed (and good). Smoking is permitted in most. Many are open late into the a.m. - some have small bandstands and live shows on a regular basis

Interestingly, in the latest Swing Journal, there is an article on the resurgence/ management of Jazz Coffee Shops. Cashed up retirees (The Japanese equivalent of Baby Boomers) are indulging in a little nostalgia, it seems.

MG - that picture is not a Jazz Coffee Shop - they are much hipper than that. However, it is surprising how many restaurants rent jazz soundtracks (through the Usen network which broadcasts nationwide on a subscription basis - Usen has a wide variety of jazz genre soundtracks available - as well as classical, pop (Japanese/ Western) etc. etc.

Q

[.:.impossible]

Japanese author Haruki Murakami used to be a jazz-kissa master.

Interesting tid-bit. That makes sense.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

The typical Jazz Coffee Shop (Jazz Kissa) is run by a jazz fan for a jazz loving clientel. People come to listen to jazz. They can make selections from the (often vast) lists that the owner/ manager has of the LPs and CDs on their shelves. Essentially there is little talking... there are usually jazz magazines to read... some customers bring books .. but most come to listen. Beer, wine and whisky and light food are generally available along with the coffee, which is normally brewed (and good). Smoking is permitted in most. Many are open late into the a.m. - some have small bandstands and live shows on a regular basis

Interestingly, in the latest Swing Journal, there is an article on the resurgence/ management of Jazz Coffee Shops. Cashed up retirees (The Japanese equivalent of Baby Boomers) are indulging in a little nostalgia, it seems.

MG - that picture is not a Jazz Coffee Shop - they are much hipper than that. However, it is surprising how many restaurants rent jazz soundtracks (through the Usen network which broadcasts nationwide on a subscription basis - Usen has a wide variety of jazz genre soundtracks available - as well as classical, pop (Japanese/ Western) etc. etc.

Q

Thanks. Just an ordinary cake/ice cream/sweets/coffee/tea shop, with great jazz.

I was really surprised at how ubiquitous jazz was in places like this and not only in Tokyo; in Kanazawa and Nagoya too.

MG