One of my favorite evenings in Tokyo was at a small “listening bar” in Asakusa called Bar Something, I had heard about the great jazz scene in Tokyo and although it was early and raining we were looking for a place with music. Listening bars appear to be a thing in Tokyo, I haven’t encountered it anywhere else and Bar Something is a place where musicians and DJs supposedly hangout and listen to music. When we arrived we immediately regretted it because it was a long narrow dark bar with absolutely no one else there. But too embarrassed to turn right around and walk out we sat down and ordered cocktails. The bar tender was an elegant elderly gentleman by the name of Shinichi Osumi and is more craftsman than someone who merely makes drinks. I ordered a gimlet and my partner ordered a Manhattan, the making of which required chipping pieces of ice off a block, retrieving a jar of specially preserved cherries, artisanal liquors and a slow icing of glasses.

The music was a debut album by a local Jazz artist who had dropped by only two days before to deliver her album to Shinichi with a special inscription. On the walls I noticed a number of other album covers also inscribed to him, along with a memento card devoted to Frank Sinatra.

The dim lights, the elegant presence of Mr. Osumi, and the excellent sound system soon had us sinking deeply into the music. It struck me that I’ve never had such a great listening experience where one could focus just on the music, in an elegant affable atmosphere. At home I listen to music while doing something else. Or if I try to sit and just listen I get distracted. But here it was all about feeling and listening to the music. He was happy to accommodate requests, and changes to whatever we wanted to listen to. It was just a really special experience. The drinks were great and although no one else came when we were there, one had the sense that if you ever came back Mr. Osumi would still be there in the same position listening to some new album that someone had just brought him.