Cotton Club

コットンクラブ

Tokia 2F, Tokyo Bldg., 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. (03)3215-1555

〒100-6402 東京都千代田区丸の内2-7-3 東京ビルTOKIA 2F

Cover charge from 6,000 yen for local groups to 15,000 yen for top-name acts from overseas. The pricing system for seats is complex, so be sure to pick your table and seat carefully.  The first show starts around 17:00 to 19:00, depending on the artist. Students get in for half price!

http://www.cottonclubjapan.co.jp/

From the main Tokyo Station, take the Marunouchi South Exit, which should deliver you to a big open area with taxis. Walk south (left if you come out directly) towards Yurakacho station following the tracks. Go past the Tokyo Central Post Office and the next building is the Tokia Building. It’s fairly new and easy to see with a big-windowed restaurant on the first floor and well-lit signs. Take the escalator up to the second floor and look around. You’ll find it or wait staff in tuxedos will find you. From Tokyo Station it is just a minute or two. Instructions and map on the website in English are clear, too.

It is hard to know what to say about the Cotton Club. Fancy, sleek, chic and posh, it is an impressive place, where they have filmed scenes for TV dramas. Drama and background are not always what you want in a jazz club, and like with the Cotton Club’s close relative, Blue Note, a show-event-spectacle experience is more the norm here than a jazz club session. Enjoying the food, atmosphere and music is a large part of the appeal, yet not in any way that is a hassle, but rather relaxed overall. The sophisticated atmosphere, gourmet food and super-attentive service are top-notch.

Of course, someone has to pay for all of that, which means the entrance fee is never cheap, perhaps the most expensive music club of its type in the world. You feel that way anyway. Yet, when you are going out without worrying about money, it’s the place to go. It’s just money, after all, right? Right?

Usually, groups play several days in a row, which makes it a lot easier to find a night to go. Rarely, though, do the groups (or ‘acts’) play other dates in the Tokyo area and play CC as an exclusive engagement. That is, it’s hard to then catch them at a cheaper venue afterwards. All the music is professional, though, and impressively performed. The sound system and production values are amazing.

Musical types at the Cotton Club range widely. For serious jazz fans, the Cotton Club has plenty of consistently right-on musicians. Straight-ahead jazz, though, is not showcased every evening. More often, the acts draw on stars of soul, funk, smooth jazz, vocals, or other pop music, often from the past. If you have an itch to hear a favorite pop group from the 70s, the latest incarnation of that group will likely pass through at some point.

Mixed in between the jazz and pop are other styles: off-beat singer-songwriters and local jazz and sort-of-jazz groups with a solid following. These two kinds of stylists always have their own unique take on music, so it seems nice to be able to hear their often unique sound in a non-concert setting. Musicians not fitting any standard genre description often have a hard time finding the right venue, but Cotton Club stretches easily to fit a lot of different genres. That means the audience is almost always enthusiastic, fans usually, who bring up the excitement level. The club is small enough that bands can really hear the response and respond to the fancy atmosphere to give that little extra.

That’s all very cool, but going there needs planning. You have to really know the group first, rather than just show up and maybe get a sound you like. The Cotton Club is a pricey place, but when everything’s right, it’s value for money. As with the Blue Note, you will just not see some of these great musicians anyplace else. And that’s a very nice, good thing.