KLAVIER

クラヴィーア

Asagaya Minami 3-37-13-3F, Asagaya, Tsuginami-ku, Tokyo. (03)3393-0418.

〒166-0004 東京都杉並区阿佐ヶ谷南3-37-13-3F

Regular charge is 2,500 yen, but more for bigger groups and specials. Two sets at 20:00 and 21:30 on weekdays, 19:00 and 20:30 on Sunday and Public Holiday. Mostly, lives are on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday, but some nights are bar nights only. but some nights are bar nights only.

http://www2.tbb.t-com.ne.jp/klavier/www/

 Asagaya Station on the Chuo and Sobu Line. From the JR station south exit, step out into the open area with a police box and look up at the third floor of the first building on the right-hand side. It is maybe a one-minute walk if your feet are tired, 30 seconds if you’re OK. It is easy to see from the station.

The wood-lined walls of Jazz Club Klavier form the perfect resonating board for the small-group jazz and intimate atmosphere showcased there. The wood really creates its own superb acoustic setting that make the “live” seem much more alive. The horns and reeds do not really need any miking, nor do the other instruments really, though some sound balance helps coordinate each musician’s sound and let the music fly.

Even those audiophiles who have spent a lot of time and money creating a great sound setting in their homes will appreciate the beauty of the sound at Klavier. The club’s title after all comes from the German word for piano, a marvelous instrument at the center of so much jazz and classical music.

The club is small enough to see and hear from anywhere. But, it never feels crowded. Service is impeccable without being imposing. Customers can sit and dream off into the music all alone or strike up a conversation, either one easily. The food is good and there is a great selection of drinks, with as many bottles lining the back of the bar as any cocktail specialty spot in Tokyo.

Musicians go there to really play in an intimate, relaxed and individual way. The musicians seem to slip into their best virtuoso mode, too. Some of the best jazz musicians in the city team up with one or two others, often in an acoustic setting, to showcase the interaction and deliberate improvising at the heart of jazz. Musicians there are never trying to prove anything edgy or provocative, but play with the awareness that the audience is there to hear their music closely, calmly and rather diligently. Klavier is a real jazz place.