Alfie
六本木アルフィー
Hama Roppongi Biru 5F, Roppongi 6-2-35, Minato-ku, Tokyo. (03)3479-2037.
〒106-0032 東京都港区六本木6-2-35 ハマ六本木ビル5F
Cover charge, 3,500 yen most nights, slightly more for bigger bands and bigger names. From 23:00 to 3 am, the jam session and recorded music is no charge. On Sunday and public holiday, the club closes when the live ends. Weekdays and Saturday 2 sets from 20:00 and 21:30. Sunday and public holiday 2 sets from 19:30 and 21:00.
Roppongi Station. From the Roppongi crossing, walk down Roppongi Dori towards Shibuya and Roppongi Hills. You will see the Azabu Police Station and after 200 meters or so (before Roppongi Hills), you can find the club.
Alfie is Roppongi's best jazz club. A great space with great music and great food and drinks (did I mention it was "great"?), it is also a favorite with musicians, and for good reason. Owner Yoko Hino knows how to run a club, and while she hires great managers, she is there overseeing things almost every night, and doing that right. The atmosphere has the right balance of laid-back and intensely hip, which is what you want in a club, especially in Roppongi.
The musicians might all be termed elegant in some sense, but accomplished and professional also apply. The audience always is there for the music, not just a night out, but with no sense of being jazz "otaku." The club is friendly, warm and the musicians play both to themselves and to the audience—again, in just the right measure. When musicians play to the crowd too much, or too little, the music can sound skewed, but at Alfie, everything seems to always work.
The club offers music from established musicians, but also gives a chance to up-and-coming groups that have something special, whether with Latin or funk rhythms, amazing technique or a special charisma. Every couple months, a performer from overseas will take the stage, and other times, special combinations of musicians will dedicate themselves to a musician or kind of music for an anniversary, retrospective evening. Every night of the week, though, Alfie offers top-level jazz in a cool space.