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

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.

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.

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

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5BVmeYb0KWjwZbW8rZbEuY

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