I'm a jazz guy. I love jazz, I live in Tokyo..but it would be wrong not to acknowledge the other side of the Tokyo music scene..They were and remain HUGE here, Karen having "the voice of an angel" according to a karaoke bar manager I spoke with..This display was outside the biggest record shop in Ginza..the sales people said they would easily sell out by closing time..RIP, Karen!

You can't win them all..I was excited to go to the Pit Inn in Shinjuku last night to hear Otomo-san. He's been an avant-garde/free-jazz guitarist for more than 25 years and from what I have heard on record, he can bring the noise with the best of them. Unfortunately, last night was Otomo-san in electronic-improvisational mode..in a trio setting with prepared piano and sine-wave machines. This kind of thing can be interesting and intense but last night was hardly worthy of being called a "gig". WAY too much quiet noodling, not enough prepared piano and hardly any guitar..I'll just say that I prefer my free-jazz to be loud and cranky. The minimalist sound-scape thing is nice on record but next time I'll be sure to confirm that Otomo-san is going to be cranking it..

Nice day out in Ueno Park on Saturday. Being Tokyo, there was of course some jazz going on. All day concert out in the amphitheater with some big bands, you could hear it all around the park.

I also came across the one-man-band genius Hiro-san..Andean pan pipes, percussion and a medley of songs including "Love is a Many-Splendored-Thing" and theme song to some anime programs here..we fell in love with him obviously..

Have put in the info and a short review of "Jazz Room Stick" in the Bars section, check it out!

but now they are fixed! TJS was out of commission for 10 days due to some apalling server problems. All is well now though, so stand by for some new bar profiles and a bunch of blog entries. As always, your patience is my virtue..

Medium-hot jazz weekend in Tokyo. Finally made it to the "Eigakan" cafe (映画館、translated as "the Cinema") The place lives up to its name as the walls are covered in old movie posters from the 60s, real classics like "Breathless" by Jean-Luc Godard and "L'Aventura" by Antonioni. Alongside the movie decor was an extensive vinyl collection and a pair of fantastic sounding speakers. It was a bit crowded so I couldn't talk to Yoshida-san, the owner. I'll try and get back soon then post a full review and profile.

On the way home stopped into the local supermarket and heard Hank Mobley's "Soul Station" coming over the speakers in there. How ridiculously cool is Tokyo, where you can hear Hank Mobley and other jazz classics in a supermarket?!?

Next week got some time set aside for a few jazz joints in Shimo-Kitazawa, stay tuned..

Go into the "Shops" menu, I finally have the first two entered. Hal's Jazz for your jazz vinyl needs,and Disk Union Shinjuku for cds, records, concert info and more. I just found out that the manager at each indivudual Disk Union location, and not corporate headquarters, decides on the inventory at each shop..this means each branch has a different emphasis depending on the owner's tastes. I'll be sure to check out Disk Union Jazz in locations around Tokyo and report back on their selections..

I made a return trip to JBS in Shibuya (it's in the Cafe section) and was able to have a long chat with the owner Kobayashi-san. He only opened the place 7 years ago but has been collecting records for over 35 years..amazing to think he had so many albums in a small Japanese apartment. Kobayashi-san is like a lot of jazz cafe and bar owners, very calm and soft-spoken, and seemingly very content in the small world he has created in his cafe. He told me he buys on average one new album every day, is at the cafe every day from 2pm-11pm and has no staff. Whether there are customers or not he'll stay and keep spinning records (while I was there he had on an amazing Harold Land record called "A New Shade of Blue"). A bit of a hermetic life, really far removed from mainstream Japanese society..and quite appealing to all us jazz geeks I think..

saw this on the wall in a lamb BBQ restaurant..anyone ever drank this?

It's been a busy jazz week. Last Sunday I met up with American pianist Tim Lyddon, in Japan for a few gigs in Osaka and Tokyo. He'll be doing two more dates at the Red Pepper in Shinbashi on the 18th and 25th, worth checking out. He also gave me his 2003 cd release "Shades of People", a great trio recording.

On Tuesday I had a quick coffee with author/journalist John Krich. He was in town covering the World Baseball Classic, reviewing Italian restaurants around Tokyo, and visiting numerous jazz cafes and bars around Tokyo. He's planning articles on each subject and wanted my input on the jazz cafe culture around town. Any pub is good pub so will link to his Wall St. Journal article when it comes out..

Also got some cds from Kevin Beauchamp from Katalyst Records. He was passing through on vacation and was kind enough to give me some great stuff by Roscoe Mitchell and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, with whom he has worked a lot in the past. Kevin is a music encyclopedia of free jazz, it was a pleasure to hang out with him and hear such great stories about the Chicago scene.