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Necola Premium Hop featuring Silvan Zingg from Swiss

On the final day of Golden Week, May 6th, Tokyo is in for something special. Swiss boogie-woogie and blues piano sensation Silvan Zingg will be performing at Necola. Silvan has shared the stage with musical legends such as B.B. King, Chuck Berry, George Benson, and Quincy Jones, who once said of him, “Your piano playing is monstrous!”


Silvan with B.B.King

Facing off against Silvan is Japan’s own boogie-woogie maestro, Hajime Kobayashi. This incredible collaboration between the top boogie-woogie pianists of Japan and Switzerland is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Accompanying them are two premium musicians: Oji Kimura on drums and Nobuyuki Yano on bass. The evening will be packed with boogie-woogie, swing, and blues galore.

Let’s wrap up Golden Week with a dance to remember!

Event: Necola Premium Hop
Date: Tuesday, May 6th (National Holiday)
Doors Open: 12:30 PM
Show and Dance Start: 1:00 PM
Ends Around: 5:00 PM
Venue: Necola in Tokyo

Advance reservation required:  HERE
Languages: We speak English and Japanese.

Price (tax included)
・With advance reservation: 7,000 Yen
・Without reservation: 10,000 Yen

Please pay in cash at the venue. Credit cards are not accepted.
Wine, bread, cheese, and snacks will be available and included.

Piano: Silvan Zingg (from Switzerland)
Piano: Hajime Kobayashi　小林創
Drums: Oji Kimura　木村おうじ
Double Bass: Nobuyuki Yano　矢野伸之

The fact that top jazz musicians from Switzerland and Japan are gathering at Necola is already incredible…
And & and (lol!), on this special day, some amazing Japanese professional musicians are scheduled to drop by Studio Necola just for fun. We’re pushing the studio to its limits—will it survive?! (lol)

Natsuko Furukawa (古川奈都子): A pianist and vocalist specializing in New Orleans jazz, blues, boogie-woogie, and swing, representing Japan. She’s said to be even more famous in New Orleans than in Japan—a true legend!


The Grit Groovers: Two young Japanese musicians born in 1998, carrying the next generation of Japan’s jazz scene. Boogie-woogie piano by Keigo Takase (高瀬啓伍) and drums by Koichi (チェケラッチョ こういち).

YouTube playlist below.
1: Boogie-Woogie featuring four super pianists
2: Blues
3: Swing: All Of Me
4: Sweet Georgia Brown
5: Shiny Stockings, tribute to Hiroshi Itaya
and more videos will be added to the playlist later.

Also please see:

TSDS calendar
Feedback from the world
Overview of the History of Lindy Hop in Japan

Lindy at the Jam Session, Kagurazaka

LINDY AT THE JAM SESSION, MAY 7, 2025

Makiko will be back in town in May!

This is a traditional jazz session at MASH Records in Kagurazaka, organized by clarinetist Makiko Tamura and saxophonist Satoshi Ito. Both are professional jazz musicians, while most of the other participants are amateurs. Lindy hoppers are welcome to dance!

Please note that this is not a regular concert for an audience but rather a session for jazz musicians—a type of practice gathering. The cost is 1,800 yen per person, and no booking is required.

The dance floor is relatively small, accommodating only a few couples at a time. However, the organizers are exceptionally welcoming toward dancers. While Makiko is a superb clarinetist, she may also take the opportunity to practice piano during the session.

The session begins at 7:30 PM and concludes around 10:00 PM. Some of us will be heading there to dance, as there will be no Necola Wednesday Night Hop at Studio Necola that day.

Since TSDS is not the organizer of this session, please refrain from directing additional questions about this event to TSDS. We are merely participants, and all the information we have is provided here.

Google Maps: Mash Records
TSDS Calendar

Hibiya Festival 2025

Get ready to swing with big band jazz in the park at Hibiya Festival 2025!

Saturday May 17, 2025
Sunday May 18, 2025
Hibiya, Tokyo

This TSDS Google Drive file contains TSDS’s analysis of whether there is room for Lindy Hop dancing for the performing bands, along with all the links for this event. This analysis will be updated as needed until just before the event. The performances themselves span a long duration over two days, and there are bands other than 4-beat jazz, so Lindyhoppers will precisely “target” the 4-beat bands! (LOL)

Ikebukuro Jazz Festival 2025

Currently, TSDS is analyzing the list of bands performing at this event. Compared to 2024, there seem to be fewer bands in 2025 that Lindyhoppers can dance to. The event spans six venues, but it appears there’s no need to visit venues other than 01 and 03. Comparing the 17th and 18th, the 18th looks more promising. This year, the event coincides with the Hibiya Jazz Festival, and after analyzing Hibiya as well, the 17th seems better for that one. Therefore, TSDS’s assessment is that if we go dancing, Hibiya on the 17th and Ikebukuro on the 18th are the best choices.

Let’s go to dance to the Ikebukuro Jazz Festival which will take place on May 17th and 18th, 2025. Over 200 jazz bands will perform around the Global Ring Theatre near the west and south exits of Ikebukuro station.

The bands that performed at this jazz event last year and were suitable for Lindy Hop dancing:

Minato Jazz Club
Pinot Gris
Tokyo Galaxy Jazz Orchestra
Pepoyo Band

Necola Wednesday Night Hop

Every Wednesday at 7 PM at Studio Necola. We’re gonna enjoy dancing lindyhop and blues to DJ’ed swing music with Necola’s super PA sound system.
Booking is required. Please check out TSDS Swing Calendar for the details.

However, recently we’ve been dancing at Lindy at the Jam Session in Kagurazaka on the first Wednesday of the month, so please be sure to check the TSDS Calendar.

Luup’s port is available at the studio.

Let’s lindyhop on the street to live jazz performances in Ikebukuro

Date: May 3, 2025
Day: Saturday

This is a free event held on the main street right near Ikebukuro Station. Various food stalls will be set up, and jazz bands will perform on the street corners. We’ve enjoyed freely dancing Lindy Hop in front of these performances many times in the past. On this day, two professional and highly skilled bands will perform. Let’s start dancing at the 2:00 PM session. The first band’s performance ends at 2:45 PM, but we can explore the stalls, eat, drink, shop, and then dance again to the next band’s performance starting at 4:00 PM.

As related information for the day, there’s a concert by Silvan Zingg, a Swiss boogie-woogie and blues piano maestro, at 7:00 PM at the Tokyo Opera City Recital Hall. You can dance there too. If you haven’t made a reservation yet and find it difficult to book through the official website, please contact TSDS. We believe TSDS can arrange your ticket with the event organizer.

Time: 14:00-14:50 PM
Wondering Buskers plays swig and New Orleans jazz
&
Time: 16:00-16:50 PM
Mitaka Choro Club plays Manouche swing

Google maps: In front of ATM of SMBC bank
Misc.: This event is free and takes place on the street. The performing bands are highly skilled, so I think we can enjoy Lindy Hop.

The schedule for the 2025 Ikebukuro Living Loop, a free outdoor event, is as follows. Highly skilled professional swing bands will perform on the streets in Ikebukuro, so let’s all go dance the Lindy Hop together. The event will also feature food and drink stalls set up along the streets. The bands’ performance times will likely be announced just before each scheduled date. Especially on November 1, 2, and 3, you can dance for three consecutive days, and with various jazz festivals happening on other weekends that month, November is set to be Tokyo’s most exciting swing month for lindyhoppers!

  • May 3 (Saturday)
  • June 7 (Saturday)
  • November 1 (Saturday)
  • November 2 (Saturday)
  • November 3 (Saturday)

Event name: Ikebukuro Living Loop

Coming Dances In Tokyo

For detailed information on each event, please check the posts on the TSDS website (click on the TSDS logo) or the TSDS Calendar. In particular, TSDS frequently updates information for the upcoming one to two weeks. Details for events like jazz festivals may only be finalized about a week before the event. Therefore, please note that events scheduled several months in advance are not yet confirmed, and their details may change.

May 14: Necola Wed Nite Hop
May 17: Hibiya Festival 2025, 1PM K.M.P. NEW SOUND ORCHESTRA
May 17: Ikebukuro Jazz Festival
May 17: Ebisu Bloomin’ JAZZ GARDEN, YANCY(NOLA Jazz), free, time unknown
May 18: Ikebukuro Jazz Festival
May 18: Hibiya Festival 2025
May 21: Necola Wed Nite Hop
May 28: Necola Wed Nite Hop

June 4: Dance to Jazz Session at Mash Records
June 11: Necola Wed Nite Hop
June 18: Necola Wed Nite Hop
June 25: Necola Wed Nite Hop
June 28: Necola Premium Hop 2025: Piano Trio feat. Japan’s Treasure Clarinetist Makiko Tamura, 1PM, DON’T MISS OUT!

Silvan Zingg to perform in Tokyo!

6:30PM, May 3, 2025
Shinjuku, Tokyo
Tokyo Opera City Recital Hall

Here’s a message from Silvan to all the swing dancers in Tokyo!
“Please feel free to find a spot somewhere near the front and dance!”

Silvan Zingg is coming to Tokyo! He’s a boogie-woogie and blues piano superstar, recognized even by B.B. King. The concert will be held at Tokyo Opera City—this is something you definitely don’t want to miss!

Details and tickets