‘Japanese cafes stacked with whisky, vinyl and high-end audio systems…’
Fascinating article in the Grauniad today.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2023/oct/05/one-kissa-is-all-it-takes-tokyos-finest-jazz-haunts-in-pictures
https://www.tokyojazzjoints.com
Mine’s an Ardbeg Wee Beastie.
Forgot to put the links in the box.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2023/oct/05/one-kissa-is-all-it-takes-tokyos-finest-jazz-haunts-in-pictures
https://www.tokyojazzjoints.com
Tasty!
“Mmmm…nice…”
Can’t afford the posh Malts, but some Cardhu Gold Reserve and this would be OK.
Bit hectic for me I’m afraid – not conducive to quiet contemplation.
There are, as Jill Swinburne observed in Alan Plater’s Beiderbecke Trilogy, ‘three kinds of jazz; hot, cool and what time does the tune start?’
Quiet contemplation is to be found here:
And, of course, here:
Whisky , vinyl and high end audio – the trifecta of Afterword catnip.
And an Afterword t- shirt.
Plotting a fact-finding mission to Tokyo in the near future, so guidance welcomed on AW-friendly scenes and helpful hints to optimise my week or so there. Some of these will certainly be considered.
The number one tip for a trip to Tokyo is book a hotel on the Yamanote line which is the train line that loops around the centre of town. This gives you direct access to places you will definitely go like Shibuya, Harajuku, Akihabara and Shinjuku. I always stay at the Metropolitan Hotel Ikebukuro for that reason. It’s a three minute walk from one of the major stations on the system with easy access from both airports. If you can try to arrive via Haneda airport rather than Narita which is four times further from the city. After a long trip that makes a big difference.
Tokyo record stores are amazing. I have only been in the big chains but never felt the need to dig deeper as the big boys are so overwhelming. Tower Records, Reco-Fan and Disc Union. This is Disc Union…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3HPfAVWbX8&t=115s
The second hand stores like Hard Off are also amazing, guitars golf clubs, whatever you want… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NReHoHqTrBk
Thanks for those two clips @cookieboy.
That Hard Off was a wonderfully eccentric visit.
I do enjoy this kind of thing. So different to the usual tourist videos..
This article was such a joy! What a magnificent job Philip Arneill did on those photos.
A labour of love!
Eight years of very enjoyable work!
There’s a trailer on YTube.
Another small treat.
Great homepage too!
https://www.tokyojazzjoints.com/
So the Japanese “do” think there is mileage in having physical musical product – vinlys ‘and’ CDs – on sale on the High Street?
Not too sure about these high-end kind of places though.
There is a town near us that ten years ago had two record shops – don’t know if it still has two record shops, mind – one advertised itself via a sofa/coffee/ambient/painfully hip vibe (even stretching to the back pages in Mojo), the other, run by an Irish guy, piled everything high and sold it cheaply – long out-of-print CDs for £4-7, very reasonably priced vinlys – including knocking off a pound from each of my CDs when I paid at the counter.
Visited the town twice, and the current score is ‘Ambient vibe’ coffee place 0, ‘Irish guy piling it high’ 7.
…and which town is this @deramdaze?
The label BBE which often releases interesting albums. They have a series of Japanese jazz compilations. I am told they are very good, but haven’t heard them. This did spark an interest for me. At the record stall in my local market yesterday, I saw the album Pamoja by Sadao Watanabe. For £2.50 I decided to take a punt and I’m really pleased I did. Here’s the title track.
I googled @Alias.
BBE have their own YT channel.
How about this?
Take Five – Japanese flute style!
Love it! Sounds like there are some traditional Japanese percussion instruments in there.
Soil & “Pimp” Sessions are a rather good, more conventional-sounding Japanese jazz outfit.
There was a very good article on this in Record Collector a year or so ago I have been to Japan and it is a fabulous country.
I would dearly love to go again for the record shops and these jazz bars.
Japan is probably the world’s most enthusiastic country for jazz, right now. They love the stuff.