music bar rpm — Restaurant in Tokyo

I love this little jazz bar!! I want to use this review to pass on something I didn’t know myself before I went to RPM for the first time. “Jam session” might sound unstructured, but it isn’t! This isn’t just people randomly noodling away on instruments! At the jam sessions, a full band made up of musicians who sign up prior to or on the night plays a bunch of songs. The entrance fee for jam sessions might appear high, since the players are unknown ahead of time, but the standard of talent is extremely high. It’s more than worth the price, and it includes two generously poured drinks. The two bartenders I’ve seen there are very foreigner friendly, and there’s signage in English for everything. It’s quite small, so I wouldn’t really recommend rolling in with a group of more than 4.

I’ve been 3 times, and each time I’ve been absolutely floored by the talent of the musicians. The songs are from a book of standards, and I heard several of them each time I visited (over the course of about a year) but every time is different because each player is given a chance to do a solo. You never know what’ll happen, but you can be sure that you’ll hear someone do something incredible and send the whole bar into cheering and applause. Jazz in Tokyo is often a formal affair, but in this place the music gets loud and bawdy. It’s an amazing experience and I’d highly recommend it to anyone with even the slightest...

We faintly heard some great live music coming up the stairs through the door, while sharing a post-dinner icecream/chocolate donut combination (surpringly delicious!) outdoors at street level. So we ventured down the stairs to a super-cool modern jazz club. Tiny, painted red & black, the host was very welcoming and the musicians were excellent. There is a cover charge & drink required, but the quality of the music and cool, laidback atmosphere was well worth it. We heard great jazz versions of Stevie Wonder tunes, amongst others. The musicians rotated, and a couple of singers tried out with the band too. It was like an extremely slick jam session. All up - a hidden...

Entry on the day I went was ¥3500 which included two drinks. I was walking back home after the moon art exhibition had closed when the sound of live music drew me to this spot. The owner was able to communicate in English and asked me if I was watching or wanted to play (it's been quite some time since I played the drums so I opted to listen instead). the talent from all the musicians was incredible and the atmosphere was amazing. I stayed for hours until it closed and it was an absolutely amazing experience. if you are walking past and considering whether you should go, do it, you...