Jazz Walk: A mysterious space where "explosive music" and "immersion" coexist

"The city of Yokohama is an indispensable part of the story of Japanese jazz."
Yokohama is home to numerous jazz festivals, including the Yokohama Jazz Promenade, Asahi Jazz Festival, and Yokohama Honmoku Jazz Festival, and has many jazz spots where you can enjoy live music.
This series will introduce the atmosphere and charm of jazz spots in the prefecture. Even if you are interested in jazz cafes and live music venues but feel they are too intimidating, you may be able to find a spot that you can easily visit!

The Noge, Isezakicho, and Kannai area of the prefecture is packed with long-established jazz cafes and live music venues. In this third installment of the series, we visited Down Beat, a long-established establishment in Noge that has been in business for 68 years.

The place is called "Downbeat" and is located one block away from "Ongaku-dori."
A red bass-shaped sign leads you up the stairs to a door that looks like the quintessential Showa-era coffee shop. Upon opening the door and entering, you're immediately enveloped in a mass of sound. The dimly lit store is lined with rows of records and shelves adorned with various posters. There's counter seating to the right and sofa seating in the back left, and the ceiling over the sofas is covered with records, posters, newspapers, and more.

There happened to be a group of foreigners there, so for a moment I felt like I wasn't in Japan.The loudspeaker in the back and the decorations with musical instrument motifs and photos of musicians displayed here and there made me realize that this was a jazz cafe.

The bar was founded in 1956, but the current owner, Shuhei Yoshihisa, took over from the previous owner eight years ago. He started going there when he was a student because a friend of his worked there part-time, and he began to listen to jazz instead of rock music up until then.

In addition to the Alter A7 speakers that have been there since the shop opened on the sofa side, JBL speakers newly selected by Yoshihisa are installed on a shelf on the counter side, allowing you to enjoy a live sound experience (you'll find yourself clapping at the end of each song).
The cafe has faithfully inherited the unique way of enjoying jazz, where listening to jazz at a loud volume is so relaxing.

The record collection now numbers between 3,400 and 3,500, and even after taking over the business, the band continues to purchase new records regularly, promoting the appeal of new jazz, with a focus on new jazz, which has recently been attracting attention at the Grammy Awards. Yoshihisa says that the music selections are "spontaneous," and 99% of them are instrumental (music played by instruments without vocals). Live performances are also held about once every three months.

When the bar first opened, American soldiers would perform live music, so it is said to attract many foreign customers, but recently it has also become popular with tourists.

As a cafe, they are particular about their coffee, using single beans from Brazil, grinding them one cup at a time and brewing them carefully using a hand-drip filter. When you sit at the counter, the smell of coffee wafts through the air, making you feel warm and cozy.

Although Downbeat has a wide selection of alcoholic beverages, enough so that it can be called a bar, Yoshihisa-san cannot drink a drop of alcohol. He says that he sometimes adds new drinks at the request of customers.

The food selection also includes cakes that go perfectly with coffee (the db Cheesecake has an exquisite harmony of berries and chocolate!) and snacks that go perfectly with alcohol (the naan pizza is a must-try).

Apparently, most customers drink alcohol at night, but during the day it's about half and half. There are also many regulars who come alone, who don't say a word except to order, and enjoy their time before leaving. Apparently, there are many regulars who have been coming for years, but don't even know each other's names. "I'm not the most friendly person," Yoshihisa laughs, but it seems that this feeling of being left to their own devices creates an incredibly comfortable atmosphere.

The editor accompanying me said, "It's loud, but I can immerse myself in my own world. I think I can concentrate and get more done working here," to which he replied, "I'm very happy." There are bookshelves above and across from the counter, lined with a variety of books, including those related to jazz and Noge. Reading amidst the loud noise is a joy.

This is a place where both jazz lovers and jazz novices can enjoy their time to the fullest.

down beat down beat
Location: 1-43 Hanasakicho, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
Business hours: 4:00 PM to 11:30 PM, closed on Mondays

Read the serial article here>>
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