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A Vinyl Collection Evolving in Real-Time
Why is such a long-established store attracting attention now? The answer lies in the presence of Shuhei Yoshihisa, who now runs the store as the owner. Downbeat, which has been in business for 68 years this year, was run by its first owner, Hayato Anbo, until the 1990s. When Mr. Yasuho passed away, Kohei Tanaka, a long-time regular customer, took over the business to ensure its survival. Later, when Mr. Tanaka, the second-generation owner, decided to let the restaurant go, the current owner, Mr. Yoshihisa, who became the young owner in his 30s, was also a regular customer who had been coming to Downbeat since his student days. In other words, Downbeat is a jazz cafe that has been preserved by regulars who know the atmosphere and music selection trends.
It’s easy to see how the atmosphere has been preserved by the three owners over its long history. It is not only about the time-traveling space. The most important point lies in its music selection.
When Downbeat opened in 1956, it was a hit year for modern jazz. Miles Davis’ “relaxin’,” Sonny Rollins’ “Saxophone Colossus,” and Thelonious Monk’s “Brilliant Corners” were recorded that year. This means that Downbeat could have bought these historical masterpieces as new recordings. The era when Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” (1959) and Bill Evans’ “Waltz for Debby” (1961), which came out later, were also new releases. The record collection here is an accumulation of records purchased in real time during the golden age of modern jazz. Mr. Yoshihisa has added his own records to this collection to create the current downbeat music selection. The selection of music is truly wonderful.
The collection, which seems to be a direct history of modern jazz, includes albums from famous American labels such as Blue Note, Impulse, and Prestige, as well as European labels such as ECM, MPS, and ENJA. Mixed in among them are rare records from Italian labels such as Horo, which had a brief period of good work in the 1970s. Records that have been sampled by hip-hop and reappraised since the 1990s, records that attracted attention in the 2000s in the context of club jazz, and Japanese jazz records from the 1960s and 1970s that have recently experienced a surge in popularity overseas are all equally represented on the shelves as new releases bought in real time. equally on the shelves.
After decades of repeated use, the jackets are worn and peeling. Mr. Yoshihisa places them in their place with an experienced hand to display the record that is being played. It is a beautiful scene that evokes a sense of history. Mr. Yoshihisa combines the tattered records with current new releases to create the atmosphere of the store with a “Downbeat-like” selection of music.
