JBS (Jazz, Blues, Soul)

There’s a beautiful simplicity about JBS (Jazz,Blues,Soul). Owner Kobayashi-san has more than 11,000 records in his tiny cafe, with no other decor visable. Even in a nation filled with maniac collectors this is an impressive site. I’d never seen such a collection up close before so it was quite overwhelming on my first visit. A great Jack DeJohnette quintet album was on when I first dropped by, followed by tenor-sax man Gary Bartz, both original vinyl pressings of course.

It took a couple of visits to get Kobayashi-san to start chatting, he’s a quiet, seemingly very shy man in his late 50s with a knowledge of “Black Music” (as they say here in Japan for any African-American music, from blues & gospel to soul & hip-hop) that is astounding. He’s written frequently in magazines and journals about the history and sociological impact of Black Music on America and the world. Behind the bar I could see some of the books he had with titles like “African-American Slang Dictionary”, “Hip-Hop Beats” and “The Death of Rhythm & Blues” alongside all the jazz disk guides.

JBS is a place that is about one thing only, and that is music. When I go there I go alone with a couple hours to spare, just listening to one great album after another, with the occasional question for Kobayashi-san. Even more so than than most jazz cafes, JBS is a music library where for the price of a coffee you get access to an incredible collection. It’s a diamond in the loud, vulgar streets of Shibuya.