Who wrote “Stablemates” and who made the best version of it? What was Eric Dolphy’s final recording and is it really his best? Which of the Count Basie Decca recordings have the best sound quality? If you can’t answer these questions quickly, then you should prep a bit before heading into a Tokyo jazz club. Go to any jazz club in Tokyo and the evening can easily end up in heated discussion on jazz.
The many jazz aficionados who haunt the clubs are ready to start an intense jazz conversation every night of the week. That does not mean you have to answer, but the image of Japan as a jazz haven has its complement in the large numbers of jazz maniacs who spend their leisure hours scouring the clubs, buying up vinyl, reading about jazz and laying in wait for the unwary foreigner who is likely to be asked about their likes and dislikes on jazz.
Tokyo and Yokohama in particular contain a jazz loving sub-culture where discussions can start up anytime in the many (if small-sized) clubs, CD stores and jazz coffee shops. These jazz spots serve as places to exchange information, swap anecdotes and talk about jazz for those intense jazz lovers who have acquired detailed knowledge about any number of jazz obscurities and historical facts.
These jazz aficionados are a fixture of the live scene that has a powerful effect on musicians, clubs and the jazz scene in general. In any jazz club, calling out the name of an obscure tune from the stage typically elicits an immediate response from the audience. Fans know the music and know the tunes. Many fans in the front rows record the music and take detailed notes. Their jazz blogs fill the Internet while their deep knowledge of jazz keeps musicians careful about what songs they choose and how they play them. They know that many people in the audience might well own the CD that song comes from and if so, will give it a listen when they get home after the show. If all that sounds a bit intense, it is!
This intensity, though, is less critical than it might be in other countries. It is aimed more at expressing one’s passion for jazz by learning a lot about it. Japan has huge numbers of books and magazines on jazz, and the websites, homepages, blogs and general information sites in Japanese is impossible to estimate. With 90 million Japanese wired to the net, Japan’s jazz life is now analyzed, argued and praised on the Internet as well.
Yet, even with the Internet, every club in the country still relies on flyers, press releases, invitations and promotion material in paper. Just stand by the large rack of information pamphlets at any club and someone will tell you who they heard the week before and which musicians and clubs they love. That word-of-mouth works marvelously well. Jazz fans in Japan are remarkably well informed, but much of it comes from friends and acquaintances they meet at jazz clubs! Perhaps unlike jazz fans in other countries, the accumulation of knowledge is a big part of the pleasure for Japanese. Knowing what and whom they are listening to is as much part of the fun as just kicking back and digging the beat. Preparatory reading is essential.
One of the best indications of people’s reading interest in jazz are the liner notes of CDs sold in Japan. These liner notes are not just translations of the original versions, but are written by jazz specialists. Going into tremendously greater detail than the typical liner notes in any other country, the liner note writers (a profession in itself in Japan) include historical research together with personal opinion, interview quotes and more background information than the average jazz fan can ever soak up. Jazz might be the American music without equal, but the Japanese knowledge about jazz is the equal of any country in the world. Be sure to brush up a bit before you enter a club!
