Somethin’ jazz club, located near Ikebukuro station in Tokyo, Japan (website, map).
As far as friendly jam sessions and classes welcoming true beginners, there’s one place that stands out. With its friendly, low-stress atmosphere, Somethin’ is a blessing for those who want to learn more and are ready to try playing jazz with others.
Somethin’ Jazz Cafe in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, welcomes all amateur musicians who are interested in playing jazz, perhaps especially players with little to no jazz or group experience who may feel nervous about overcoming the initial hurdle of jumping right into regular jazz jams.
While many other live session spots get right down to business with the standard jazz jam format, Somethin’ specializes in providing a series of structured classes to teach new or inexperienced students how to get started and continue playing in group jazz performance. As students progress, advanced class levels are also avaialble for higher-level sessions and players.
On every night of the week, Somethin’ offers these classes and jam sessions where players get a chance to pick songs and play with others. A big benefit to new players is having both instructors and more experienced players participating in the sessions. Having seasoned musicians playing right alongside in these sessions is a big benefit as they can help new players with guidance and tips. Playing together with more skilled musicians is an excellent way to learn and grow, and it’s also just a great, friendly place to practice and make new friends as well.
The beginner class lessons introduce the basics of jazz jams including customs and rules at sessions. These first classes are usually based on playing some simple standard jazz session songs again and again. The instructors play along, guide students, and offer tips and advice during the hands-on classes. By participating together, this format helps to make new players feel comfortable playing in jazz jam sessions.
For those with basic facility on their instrument but little to no experience with jazz, the first-timer class teacher newcomers the basics of jazz playing, usually structured around the 12-bar jazz blues form. This is a good introduction to how to play a song tougher with others in the jazz style. From here, the classes progress gently to become increasingly like jam sessions but using preselected songs like “Now’s the Time”, “Autumn Leaves”, “Bye Bye Blackbird”, and similar standards.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Jazz of Japan to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.