JAZZ KISSA – Jazz vinyl cocktail lounge Kissa Kissa in Brooklyn, New York is the first bonafide jazz kissa in the USA. A café based on the classic and modern Japanese jazz bar, which typically harbors a vintage collection of jazz records and welcomes customers intent on dedicated individual and communal listening. 

Danny says: “When I first came across the existence and history of Japanese jazz kissa, there was something about them which I found spellbinding. They have an ineffable charm – there is a beauty inherent to their existence. The cozy size. The celebration of this music which has meant so much to me since I was very young. The lack of artifice and pretension in favor of foregrounding the simple act of listening in community. The often aged proprietor who unlocks his door for a few hours a week, as though welcoming the world into his home.”

“My assumption was that it must have been replicated all over the world, especially in places with a history of supporting jazz like Copenhagen or Paris or NYC for that matter. But everyone I spoke to, people whose expertise I held in high regard, said that they had never seen it done. By this, I mean an exclusively jazz format, ideally all vinyl, with a focus on the listening experience, but without being a live music venue. I was flabbergasted! I’d be at Sam Records buying albums and Fred would say, ‘Nope, that doesn’t exist in France.’ I thought, well, maybe we just need to be the ones to do it.”

Looks like a classy reenactment of the source. Fascinated by American/Western culture, cafés in pre-war Japan played phonographs while promoting dancing and sexual services. As a reaction to these loud places, quieter spots cropped up with a more relaxed and refined atmosphere. The first jazz kissas (kissaten originally means tea-room that tends to a sophisticated crowd) were founded in the 1930’s.

The golden age of the jazz kissa is the 1950s/60/s/70s. Live music was scarce and it was difficult to obtain expensive imported records. The knowledgable patron functioned as host to a bohemian crowd and often lectured on the artists from the records that he spinned. The jazz kissa was an important source of information to students, journalists and musicians. It usually was located in a quiet part of the hipper neighborhoods of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Socio-cultural shifts resulted in various subgenres as swing, modern jazz and free jazz. Typically, the proprietor – or ‘master’ of the ‘tiny’ jazz kissa takes pride in hi-end gear.

Danny takes pride in a big record collection. He continues: “The records have all been individually purchased by me. Building a collection involves a high ratio of time spent to LPs acquired but, of course, the chase is half of the fun! The wall feels like a creature unto itself in some ways. There have been many magic moments watching people interact with it, often timidly at first, scanning spines, brushing a finger horizontally in search of a surname, a smile spilling wide at the sight of a particular title.”

“Record collections can be so oddly personal, can feel like such an extension of who we are – not just our proclivities and tastes but in a way that seems to reveal a deeper truth about our essential selves – and here this jazz kissa invites you to take a seat and explore that vulnerability. Perhaps that’s a bit hyperbolic but it does feel that way at times when I’m putting a playlist together or dropping the needle.”

The jazz kissa is a fascinating phenomenon still vibrant in Japan today. And being kick-started in the USA by Kissa Kissa by Danny, Nina and their team. One can only hope others follow suit and open up joints that promote individual tastes instead of standard corporate riffs. Who needs another Starbucks anyway?

Check out the website of Kissa Kissa here: https://www.kissakissa.us/