Jazz in Japan | Someday

新宿サムデイ

1-34-8 Kindai Bld., 15-B1, Shinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo. (03)3559-6777.

〒160-0022　東京都新宿区新宿1-34-8

Cover charge 2,500 yen, but up to 4,500 for big bands (“Gotta pay the band!”). Two sets at 7:45 and 9:20. Plus one food and one drink order.

http://someday.net/index2.html

https://www.instagram.com/jazz_someday_tokyo/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1000638 93594261

The easiest way is to check the club map, which is in English and Japanese both. The closest subway stop is Shinjuku Gyoen Mae (exit 1) on the Marunouchi line, but also the Shinjuku Sanchome station (exit C7) on the Shinjuku Line. You can also walk from JR Shinjuku station (head towards Isetan and then go to Yasukuni Dori), which is not too far, but a walk just the same. The club is fairly easy to see from Yasukuni Dori, the very large street that runs east west through Shinjuku (not to be confused with Shinjuku Dori, also big).

Someday has moved three times in the past decade, from Shin-Okubo to Kagurazaka and then to Shinbashi, and this spring AGAIN to Shinjuku, where owner, sound engineer, cook, manager and "master" Mori-san has found a good home at last. Certainly, this newest space is the best yet, with a good, relaxed vibe and great sound. It is an easy walk from lots going on in Shinjuku, though in a quieter area a block or two away from the hubbub.

Since Mori-san was once upon a time a sound engineer, the speakers sound superb. The acoustics of this newest club are definitely the best yet. Try to sit smack in the middle of the club, just a bit back from the stage, for the ultimate sweet spot in the sound. People watching, though, is good from anywhere. The band hangs out in the back.

Someday's stage can easily hold a twenty-piece band, whether straight-ahead or Latin or free jazz. That alone makes it a unique place, and even more so for the annual big band festival held at Someday over two weeks every spring. The master Mori-san always has had a special fondness for big bands, but the festival is a chance to hear them on successive nights. Most weeks have at least one big band night, though, and several of the bands reform themselves from other groups just to play at Someday, such as the Someday Leaders' Big Band and Latin Special Orchestra.

Mori-san also likes to book blues, steel-pan, and hard bop bands as well. He’s picky, so the bands are good, with some of the best players in Tokyo coming through on a regular basis. It can be quiet on weeknights, but for the best bands, the club is packed and the music swinging hard. Most of the groups work with a straight-ahead feel, and can be either just forming a new configuration or revisiting an old one. Either way, it’s never a scene, and you can crash out and get into the music without any club hassles or pretence. The musicians like jamming through lengthy, solid sets. The space seems to invite them to really stretch out.

You can hear well, and see well, from any seat in the place. Food is basic, hearty and satisfying--pizza, fried potatoes, salads, and fried rice, along with the usual nibblies. Drinks are reasonably priced, though don't hesitate to wave your hand when you get thirsty to drag over one of the wait staff. The master has a fair bit of English on his website, too. The vibe is very much directed towards the music, and players and listeners alike take their music seriously here.