Tokyo Jazz Joints
by Philip Arneil and James Catchpole
2023
I think the best way to enjoy Tokyo Jazz Joints is probably while drinking a cold beer and listening to a jazz album. Coltrane seems to be quite popular at the venues in the book. This is a photo book, which documents Arneill and Catchpole's visits to hundreds of jazz bars and cafes in Tokyo and across Japan.
The book opens with essays by Arneill (who took the photos, and seems to have been the driving force behind the project) and Catchpole (an aficionado who acted as the tour guide.) Both speak fondly of the jazz joint as a place where the owners are serious fans who've amassed and catalogued enormous collections, and where the customers enjoy both the music and a space of freedom from the structures of work and home life.
The rest of the book is photos of the pair's favorite sites. I think each joint appears multiple times. Arneill seems to be aiming for a kaleidoscopic effect, showing us everything, but in fragments. We see interiors of the spaces, the bars, the record collections, the sound systems, the music menus, the memorabilia, the front entrances and back exits, the framed photos, the bathroom graffiti.
My favorite shots are from a far enough distance to take in several features at once. Initially I was disappointed by some of the close-ups, though that feeling lessened once I realized they weren't the only images of any bar, and disappeared entirely deeper into the book, once I understood their purpose. A lot of these places are absolute dives, and seeing a faded door sign or a markered-up bathroom wall communicates that. And those images are only part of the mix, not the whole thing.
The one change I'd make, if I had the power, would be to include a bit more prose from Arneill and Catchpole. Both seem to be competent narrators, and I would've enjoyed hearing a bit more about some of the places they visited.
The book opens with essays by Arneill (who took the photos, and seems to have been the driving force behind the project) and Catchpole (an aficionado who acted as the tour guide.) Both speak fondly of the jazz joint as a place where the owners are serious fans who've amassed and catalogued enormous collections, and where the customers enjoy both the music and a space of freedom from the structures of work and home life.
The rest of the book is photos of the pair's favorite sites. I think each joint appears multiple times. Arneill seems to be aiming for a kaleidoscopic effect, showing us everything, but in fragments. We see interiors of the spaces, the bars, the record collections, the sound systems, the music menus, the memorabilia, the front entrances and back exits, the framed photos, the bathroom graffiti.
My favorite shots are from a far enough distance to take in several features at once. Initially I was disappointed by some of the close-ups, though that feeling lessened once I realized they weren't the only images of any bar, and disappeared entirely deeper into the book, once I understood their purpose. A lot of these places are absolute dives, and seeing a faded door sign or a markered-up bathroom wall communicates that. And those images are only part of the mix, not the whole thing.
The one change I'd make, if I had the power, would be to include a bit more prose from Arneill and Catchpole. Both seem to be competent narrators, and I would've enjoyed hearing a bit more about some of the places they visited.
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