View source for Pit Inn (jazz club)

{{Short description|Jazz club in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan}}
{{Infobox venue
| name             = {{Nihongo|Pit Inn|ピットイン}}
| image            = Shinjuku Accord Bldg (02) IMG 9722 R 20150126.JPG
| image_caption    = Second Pit Inn street entrance
| image_size       =
| location         = Accord Building B1, Shinjuku 2-12-4, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| coordinates      =
| type             = Nightclub
| genre            = [[Jazz]]
| opened           = 24 December 1965
| closed           =
| owner            =
| seating_capacity =
| URL              = http://www.pit-inn.com/index_e.html
}}
The {{Nihongo|'''Pit Inn'''|ピットイン}} is a jazz club in [[Shinjuku]], Tokyo. The original opened in 1965 and was forced by demolition to close in 1992. It re-opened at a different site in Shinjuku later that year. ''[[DownBeat]]'' wrote in 2019 that the Pit Inn "is almost universally regarded as Japan's most important jazz club".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Catchpole |first=James |date=February 2019 |title=Tokyo |magazine=DownBeat |volume=86 |issue=2 |page=55 }}</ref>
==First Shinjuku Pit Inn==
The first Pit Inn was located in [[Shinjuku]] 3-chōme. It was named by its owner, Yoshitake Sato, who was a car enthusiast.{{sfn|Soejima|2018|p=24}} The first manager was Goro Sakai, who had experience of running jazz clubs.{{sfn|Soejima|2018|pp=23–24}} The Pit Inn opened on 24 December 1965,{{sfn|Soejima|2018|p=24}}<ref name="relocation">{{cite web |date= |title=The 30th Anniversary of Relocation: Shinjuku Pit Inn Special Session |url=http://pit-inn.com/show_detail/220705shinjuku-pit-inn-special-session/ |website=pit-inn.com |access-date=2 May 2023}}</ref> as a [[Jazz kissa|jazz coffee shop]].<ref name="ETA">Atkins, Everett Taylor (1997) ''This Is Our Music''. (Doctoral thesis). p. 223.</ref> By March of the following year, it was hosting live jazz every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and on other days was being let out to theatre groups and for [[happening]]s.{{sfn|Soejima|2018|pp=25–26}} Two years later, it became even more focused on jazz and was in the style of a [[Greenwich Village]] hangout.<ref name="ETA" />
From its early days, both domestic and international musicians played at the Pit Inn. In 1968, for instance, [[The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra]] played there.<ref>Lash, Max E. (14 July 1968) "Big Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Band Packed with Power". ''The Japan Times''. p. 5.</ref> Other activities also took place: a photography exhibition in 1968 was an early example.<ref>Pearce, Jean (31 August 1968) "Readers' Exchange". ''The Japan Times''. p. 5.</ref> Some of the most prominent Japanese jazz musicians played at the club early in their careers. Many continue to play there regularly, including [[Terumasa Hino]], [[Sadao Watanabe (musician)|Sadao Watanabe]] and [[Yōsuke Yamashita]].<ref name="JT06" /> Trumpeter Hino played there in 1969.<ref>Lash, Max E. (29 December 1968) "Jazz, Groups Sounds on New Year's Eve". ''The Japan Times''. p. 5.</ref> In 1970, the standard entrance charges were 450 Yen for the 2pm show and 500 Yen for the 7pm one, with one drink included.<ref>Lash, Max E. (19 April 1970) "Mamoru & Charles... New Record Stars??". ''The Japan Times''. p. 6.</ref> It was described as "A comfortably dingy, often smoke-filled niche for the serious jazz fan [...] over the years it had been home to performances and recordings by some of the world's greatest jazz musicians".<ref name="JTnew" /> In January 1992, it was forced to close, as the building it was part of was being demolished.<ref name="JTnew" />
==Second Shinjuku Pit Inn==
The Pit Inn reopened on 5 July 1992,<ref name="relocation" /> at a new location at the edge of [[Shinjuku Ni-chōme|Shinjuku 2-chōme]].<ref name="JTnew">Moses, Marc (25 July 1992) "Pillar of Japan Jazz Stands Once More". ''The Japan Times''. p. 17.</ref> It continued to offer an afternoon and an evening performance, with the former being for less-well-established musicians.<ref name="JT06">"Listening Post" (20 January 2006). ''The Japan Times''. p. 20.</ref> The fortieth anniversary celebrations featured performances by Hino, Watanabe, Yamashita, [[Keiko Lee]], [[Otomo Yoshihide]], [[John Zorn]] and others, playing in a nearby rented hall, as the club was too small to accommodate all the fans.<ref name="JT06" />
==Other Pit Inns==
There have been other jazz clubs with the same name in other parts of Tokyo and Japan. The [[Roppongi]] Pit Inn was open from at least 1978,<ref>"What's Happening in Town" (11 April 1978). ''The Japan Times''. p. 9.</ref>{{refn|group=note|Facebook's page gives 25 August 1977 as the opening date.<ref name="FB" />}} and was at Shimei Building B1, Roppongi 3-17-7.<ref>Brand, Jude (1993) ''Tokyo Night City''. Charles E. Tuttle.</ref> In 2003, it contained wooden pews and chairs, and "ceiling-high speakers angle[d] in to cover the entire audience space with crisp sound resolution and exceptional clarity".<ref>Pronko, Michael (9 March 2003) "All of It... Why Not Hear All of It?". ''The Japan Times''. p. 13.</ref> It closed on 26 July 2004.<ref name="FB">[https://www.facebook.com/pg/ROPPONGIPITINN/about/?ref=page_internal "Roppongi Pit Inn"]. Facebook. Retrieved 18 August 2017.</ref>
==Concert recordings==
An asterisk (*) indicates that the album was recorded at the Roppongi Pit Inn.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Year recorded
!Leader/Band
!Title
!Label
|-
|1974
|{{sortname|Sadao|Watanabe|Sadao Watanabe (musician)}}
|''At "Pit Inn"''
|[[CBS/Sony]]
|-
|1974
|{{sortname|Cedar|Walton}}
|''[[Pit Inn (album)|Pit Inn]]''
|[[East Wind Records|East Wind]]
|-
|1978*
|{{sortname|Tatsuro|Yamashita}}
|''It's A Poppin' Time''
|[[RCA Records]]
|-
|1979*<ref>Grey, Hilarie (March 1, 2000) [https://jazztimes.com/reviews/currents/steps-ahead-smokin-in-the-pit/ "Steps Ahead: Smokin' in the Pit"]. ''JazzTimes''.</ref><ref>Barakan, Pete (12 December 1980) "Rock 'n' Roll". ''The Japan Times''. p. 9.</ref>
|{{sortname||Steps Ahead}}
|''Smokin' in the Pit''
|[[Nippon Columbia]]
|-
|1979*
|{{sortname|Kazumi|Watanabe}}
|''KYLYN Live''
|Better Days
|-
|1979*<ref>[http://www.allmusic.com/album/blues-show-live-at-pit-inn-mw0000595311 "Phillip Walker – Blues Show Live at Pit Inn"]. AllMusic. Retrieved 16 August 2017.</ref>
|{{sortname|Phillip|Walker|Phillip Walker (musician)}}
|''Blues Show Live at Pit Inn''
|Yupiteru
|-
|1980*<ref>Leggett, Steve [http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-blues-show%21-live-at-pit-inn-1980-mw0000038856 "Lowell Fulson – The Blues Show! Live at Pit Inn 1980"]. AllMusic. Retrieved 16 August 2017.</ref>
|{{sortname|Lowell|Fulson}}
|''The Blues Show! Live at Pit Inn 1980''
|
|-
|1984
|{{sortname|Elvin|Jones}}
|''[[Elvin Jones Jazz Machine Live at Pit Inn]]''
|[[Polydor Records|Polydor]]
|-
|1985
|{{sortname|Mal|Waldron}} and [[Yōsuke Yamashita]]
|''Piano Duo Live at Pit Inn''
|Village
|-
|1986
|{{sortname||Manhattan Jazz Quintet}}
|''Live at Pit Inn''
|[[King Records (Japan)|King]]
|-
|1986
|{{sortname||Kenso}}
|''Music For Unknown Five Musicians''
|[[King Records (Japan)|King]]
|-
|1988
|{{sortname|Sun|Ra}}
|''[[Cosmo Omnibus Imagiable Illusion]]''
|[[DIW Records|DIW]]
|-
|1989*{{refn|group=note|"Dancer" & "Love Space" recorded on March 11, 1981.}}
|{{sortname|Tatsuro|Yamashita}}
|''Joy''
|Moon Records
|-
|1990 (released)*<ref>Hale, James (13 August 1991) "Kondo Creates a Unique Blend of Blues and Soul". ''The Japan Times''. p. 15.</ref>
|{{sortname|Fusanosuke|Kondo|nolink="1"}}
|''Heart of Stone''
|[[BMG Victor]]
|-
|1990 (released)*<ref name="JT93">Hale, James (31 July 1993) "Blues-Lovers Assembled for Tribute". ''The Japan Times''. p. 15.</ref>
|{{sortname|Fusanosuke|Kondo|nolink="1"}}
|''Go Back to de Basic Thing''
|[[BMG Victor]]
|-
|1991 (released)*<ref name="JT93" />
|{{sortname|Fusanosuke|Kondo|nolink="1"}}
|''Unchained Rhythm''
|[[BMG Victor]]
|-
|1992 (released)*<ref name="JT93" />
|{{sortname|Fusanosuke|Kondo|nolink="1"}}
|''My Innocent Time''
|[[BMG Victor]]
|-
|1992
|{{sortname||Material|Material (band)}}
|''[[Live in Japan (Material album)|Live in Japan]]''
|Jimco
|-
|1992
|{{sortname|Elvin|Jones}}
|''[[Tribute to John Coltrane "A Love Supreme"]]''
|[[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
|-
|1994
|{{sortname|Masahiko|Togashi}}
|''So What''
|[[Venus Records|Venus]]
|-
|1994
|{{sortname|Choi|Sun Bae|nolink="1"}}
|''The Sound of Nature''
|Universal
|-
|2001
|{{sortname|Akira|Sakata}} and TOY
|''Live at Pit Inn''
|Q-Train
|-
|2005
|{{sortname|Akira|Sakata}}
|''Explosion''
|P-Jazz
|-
|2005
|{{sortname|Satoko|Fujii}}
|''Live!!''
|Libra
|-
|2005
|{{sortname|Kei|Akagi}}
|''Live – Shapes in Sound''
|Video Arts
|-
|2007
|{{sortname||The Thing|The Thing (jazz band)}}
|''Shinjuku Crawl''
|[[Smalltown Superjazzz]]
|-
|2007
|{{sortname||The Thing|The Thing (jazz band)}}
|''Shinjuku Growl''
|[[Smalltown Superjazzz]]
|-
|2009
|{{sortname|Ted|Brown|Ted Brown (saxophonist)}}
|''Live at Pit Inn''
|Marshmallow
|-
|2009
|{{sortname||First Meeting|nolink="1"}}
|''Cut the Rope''
|Libra
|-
|2010
|{{sortname|Guerino|Mazzola}}, Heinz Geisser, Shiro Onuma
|''Dancing the Body of Time''
|[[Cadence Jazz Records|Cadence Jazz]]
|-
|2010
|{{sortname|Peter|Brötzmann}}, [[Keiji Haino]], [[Jim O'Rourke (musician)|Jim O'Rourke]]
|''Two City Blues 1''
|[[Trost Records|Trost]]
|-
|2010
|{{sortname|Peter|Brötzmann}}, [[Keiji Haino]], [[Jim O'Rourke (musician)|Jim O'Rourke]]
|''Two City Blues 2''
|[[Trost Records|Trost]]
|-
|2011
|{{sortname|Mari|Yamashita|nolink="1"}}
|''Live at Pit Inn''
|Erato
|-
|2012
|{{sortname|Ken|Vandermark}} and [[Paal Nilssen-Love]]
|''Extended Duos''
|Audiographic
|-
|2012
|{{sortname||Jazz Hijokaidan|nolink="1"}} ([[Akira Sakata]])
|''Made in Japan''
|Doubtmusic
|-
|2013
|{{sortname|Masahiko|Satoh}} and [[Paal Nilssen-Love]]
|''Spring Snow''
|PNL
|-
|2014
|{{sortname|Takeo|Moriyama}}
|''Straight Edge''
|Pit Inn
|-
|2014
|{{sortname|Otomo|Yoshihide}}
|''Live at Shinjuku Pit Inn''
|Pit Inn
|-
|2014
|{{sortname|Shingo|Okudaira|nolink="1"}}
|''This Is New''
|Pit Inn
|}
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Soejima |first=Teruto |translator-last=Kato |translator-first=David Hopkins |title=Free Jazz in Japan: A Personal History |year=2018 |origyear=2002 |publisher=Public Bath Press |isbn=978-4-9908636-5-4 }}
{{refend}}
{{coord missing|Tokyo}}
[[Category:1965 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Jazz clubs in Japan]]
[[Category:Music venues in Tokyo]]