Jazz music in the City of Yokohama

Yokohama citizens encounter and enjoy jazz with openness, perhaps best described as ‘dressing’ in jazz music? Jazz music is enjoyed not only in jazz clubs, but also in concert halls, restaurants, and outside, perhaps because jazz music is played nonchalantly anytime, any place?

As a port town, Yokohama City has always been one of the first to accept foreign cultures. The city has a history of jazz performances held going back to the Taisho Period (1912 - 1926). Approximately 70 years ago, American soldiers introduced jazz as a part of their daily lives upon arriving in Yokohama City following the end of World War II. For Yokohama City, where residents were struggling in the aftermath of the war, jazz music introduced by Americans was a symbol of freedom and the subject of admiration.

The young people who witnessed these jazz performances in Yokohama City at the time include later pioneers of Yokohama jazz music, including Terumasa Hino, Sadao Watanabe and Toshiko Akiyoshi. As the City gradually recovered from the war and prospered, jazz became widespread across the City like wildfire, encouraging local residents and becoming a necessary part of their daily lives as well, just like Americans.

Jazz music has long encouraged the residents of Yokohama City, perhaps the most suitable background music for the city. Therefore, jazz music heard in the port town of Yokohama is somewhat different. The music is informal, yet resonates in the hearts of listeners. Why not open the door of a jazz club, and clad yourself in Yokohama City’s jazz music? Perhaps, you might discover a more free version of oneself?