Rediscovering the Legacy: Downbeat, Yokohama’s Beloved Jazz Kissa Since 1956

Preserving Legacy and Embracing the Present: The Model of an Esteemed Establishment

On this day, I made several requests to Mr. Yoshihisa. When I told him I wanted to hear a piano trio, he played Steve Keune’s “Three Waves” (1961). The cymbals of drummer Pete LaRoca’s drums echoed richly throughout the restaurant. I asked, “How do you like the new recording?” I told him, “Prime” (2023) by Christian McBride New Joan. The trumpet and tenor sax jumped into the room with great power. Conversely, Mr. Yoshihisa chose Daniel Villarreal’s “Lados B” (2023), saying, “This kind of music also goes well together. I groaned at the way the speakers sounded, which made the rough production and psychedelic soundscape that passed for hip-hop sound pleasant to listen to. The Downbeat sound system brought out the best of the records from different eras. And the records from different eras and styles connected naturally.

Yoshihisa modestly says, “I don’t know much about jazz,” but he understands the value of Downbeat’s record collection better than anyone else, and he knows with a high degree of accuracy which records the vintage sound system here will play and how. counter since 2017. He knows more than anyone else about the characteristics of the downbeat space and its charms. He knows how to play the “downbeat instrument” more beautifully than anyone else.

This is possible because he has inherited the history and worldview of the store, which is now in its 68th year. New releases have also been purchased to add to the collection. The music is contemporary, but not out of step with the times or against the charm of the downbeat box. While presenting jazz as “living music” that has continued to incorporate the sounds of each era, it has not lost respect for the history of jazz. It has been brushed up to keep up with the times, but at the same time, it has been able to exist as a place that has never changed. This may be the ideal form of a long-established establishment in the modern age.

There is no way that such a place can remain only for regular customers and jazz fanatics, and new customers have been stopping by since Yoshihisa-san took over. It was the new regulars who were attracted to the “Downbeat of today” who recommended Downbeat to me.

Downbeat’s Selection of 5 Albums

The five albums played at Downbeat the day before the interview

Bill Frisell “Rambler
Johnathan Blake “Passage
Horace Silver “Blowin’ The Blues Away
Masaaki Kikuchi “But Not For Me
Tete Montoliu “Yellow Dolphin Street

Masaaki Kikuchi “But Not For Me” is not available for subscription service.