The well-established jazz café “Downbeat,” established in 1956, is presently attracting notice. Rather than experiencing a nostalgic revival, it is acknowledged as a lively and modern venue.
Music critic Mitsutaka Yanagura takes a closer look at its appeal. This is the sixth installment of the series “Where Good Music Meets Good Music.
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Running Almost Seven Decades in the Town of Jazz Yokohama
Over the past few years, I have been repeatedly recommended “Downbeat” by friends. Downbeat is a long-established jazz cafe in Yokohama, and I had been there many years ago. I had been to Downbeat a long time ago, but it seemed to have changed a lot since then. My friends were all saying how special Downbeat was now. If they were so sure, I went to Yokohama.
Yokohama is also known as a jazz town, with many jazz cafes, jazz bars, and jazz clubs. After the war, from the mid-1940s to the 1950s, Yokohama had a district where military personnel working at U.S. military facilities in the city and Yokosuka lived, and there were many restaurants catering to Americans. Some of these stores catered to those seeking jazz, the most exciting music of the era as it transitioned from swing to bebop.
The jazz cafe “Chigusa,” established in 1933, was a place that played jazz records, which were difficult to obtain at the time, on its excellent audio system. In the mid-1950s, Yokohama was also home to the famous “Mocambo” nightclub, where “The Phantom “Mocambo” Session ’54” was recorded. If you read books about jazz in Japan, you will find that the young Sadao Watanabe, Akiyoshi Toshiko, and the legendary pianist Shotaro Moriyasu also frequented these clubs. In other words, Yokohama was the most important area for modern jazz in Japan.
Downbeat, founded in 1956, is another long-established jazz cafe that was part of the postwar jazz scene in Yokohama, along with other famous stores like Downbeat. Thousands of records lined up in the dimly lit store. The ceiling and walls are covered with clippings from the American jazz magazine “Downbeat” and old posters. Everything is the very image of a “so-called Showa-era jazz cafe. The interior of the cafe is said to have remained mostly unchanged since its relocation to Noge in the mid-1960s. Those who drop by for the first time will be surprised to see that such a space still exists in the 2025 era. I think it was in the mid-2000s when I first went there, and I remember how excited I was as if I had stepped back in time.
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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.
