Unlikely but Perfect: Hot Dogs and Jazz at Shimokitazawa’s tonlist

Glowing Neon Hot Dog Lights at A Theatrical Alley

I came across this place on social media. I pinned it on Google Maps because of the nice atmosphere and, most importantly, the record selection. The fact that they serve hot dogs may have also caught my attention.

I liked the place immediately after my first visit and have returned many times. It is now my go-to stop in Shimokitazawa, and I have even taken my musician friends from overseas there. We usually go there after a stop at Disk Union or at some other place halfway through the day, so the convenience of coffee and hot dogs is just right.

tonlist is located just inside Suzunari Yokocho, which can be seen from the entrance of Disk Union. Suzunari Yokocho is an extremely austere space with an underground/subculture feel, but the cozy cafe that suddenly appears at the side of the entrance is so bright and refreshing that it feels strange.

According to the owner, Yuya Uno, this space was originally the office of a theater, and after the office moved out, it was used as a warehouse. When he was looking for a place to open a cafe, he heard about this space from an acquaintance who happened to be involved with The Suzunari, and decided to rent it. When he explained that the space was not originally a cafe, so he had to build it from scratch, not just zero, but minus, to its current state, I was convinced of its special location and interior design.

A Musical Curation that Blends DJ Vibes with Jazz Enthusiasm

The reason I liked this place so much was its music selection and sound quality. The music is wide-ranging, from the newest to the oldest, but despite the broad range, there is a sense of cohesiveness that makes you feel a sense of inevitability. The owner’s tastes are evident, and even though there are different styles and eras, the music is well contained within the framework of the store, which is a very good thing.

There are a few commonalities among the places I have found and liked over the past five years. One is that they have passed through hip-hop and DJ culture, and even if they are playing modern jazz from the 1950s, I am always impressed when I come across music selections that show the sensitivity that comes from having passed through these cultures. Mr. Uno used to be a DJ and liked David Mancuso and DJ Harvey. No wonder the flow of the music selection was natural, and the attention to volume and other details made me feel comfortable. At the same time, the room sometimes plays records with psychedelic hooks that Mancuso and Harvey would have liked. There is a reason for the perfect balance.

Another common characteristic of the places I like in recent years is that they also play jazz from the 1980s and 2000s. Not many places choose to play this type of music, and DJs tend to shy away from it. The records are cheap because they are not popular, but many of them have good content. It was tonlist that reminded me how great Cassandra Wilson’s records were before she signed with Blue Note, and I was surprised by a record featuring Wynton Marsalis. It was at tonlist that I was struck by the recordings of Wynton Marsalis.

Uno modestly says, “I don’t know much about it,” but while he is a DJ in some respects, he also has a context that is not DJ-like in others. The variety of his music selection naturally reveals that he has much to offer.

Beyond Sound: A Dedication to Audio Quality

Another attraction of this shop is the quality of sound that makes the most of such music selection. Uno was originally an engineer working for a car manufacturer and liked not only audio equipment but also a wide range of other audio equipment. He used to spend his own time as audio engineer, helping out at friends’ weddings and live performances at cafes. His experience of making music sound in such a small space has been put to good use in the creation of the store.

The walls (perforated board), which look like an elementary school music room, create a nice atmosphere. “These walls absorb sound, so even if you play quite loud volume in a small store, it doesn’t sound too loud,” he says, casually coexisting design and functionality. The audio equipment that has been installed to create a warm, jazz cafe-like sound is also excellent, but the reason for tonlist’s good sound is not just the audio system. The soundproofing is so carefully done that even when we play a quiet record, the sound from the theater upstairs is completely inaudible. Inside the tiny store, there are many details that are not obvious until you are told.

My image of tonlist is the Alice Coltrane (reissue) record that was playing when I visited there on a whim and sounded great, and the Norah Jones record they played on the day of the interview also sounded surprisingly appealing. It seems unlikely that there is a store that can bring this kind of pleasure to us, but it is rare.

tonlist’s five records

Wolfgang Muthspiel “Rising Grace
Wayne Shorter “Live At The Detroit Jazz Festival
Cassandra Wilson “Blue Skies
Theo Crocker Quartet “Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic XII: Sketches of Miles
V.A. “Jazz At The Opera House

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0zKeC9Ryuy9R3EdRJnQChd?si=a8d9b05056d34da3