Masahiko Togashi

Masahiko Togashi ( jap.富樫雅彦Togashi Masahiko * 22. March 1940 in Tokyo ; † 22. August 2007 in Kanagawa ) was a Japanese jazz - drummer . Togashi had been in a wheelchair since a knife stab and used a special drum kit.

Life

Togashi took violin lessons at the age of six, had his first contact with jazz at the age of twelve through recordings with Sonny Rollins and Shorty Rogers , and he was 14 when he became a member of his father's swing band , bassist Masaki Togashi . With that began his professional career; two years later he was the drummer in the Sadao Watanabe Quartet ; The first recordings were made in 1957. The Watanabes quartet mainly played modern jazz and bossa nova . Togashi gained further musical experience by meeting musicians such as Toshiko Akiyoshi , Helen Merrill and Charlie Mariano . In 1963 he took part in the legendary Ginparis sessions and played with Masyuki Takayanagi ( g ) and the pianist Yōsuke Yamashita , among others . In 1969 he turned to free jazz , u. a. in the Masahiko Satō Trio. The first LP under Masahiko Togashi's name was recorded on May 23, 1969 ( We now create ). A second quartet LP was released in November of the same year and a duo recording with saxophonist Mototeru Takagi followed in December .

In 1970 Togashi was so badly injured by a knife that he has had to sit in a wheelchair ever since. The Yamaha company made a special drum kit for him and new recordings were made in January 1971, this time with Toshiyuki Miyama and his New Herd .

In August 2007, Togashi died of heart failure at the age of 67.

music

In Togashi's cosmos of sound, complicated structures played just as much a role as ostinate rhythm figures , but the space between the beats and pauses full of tension was eminently important. This is particularly evident in the numerous solo releases that have appeared since 1975. In his compositions , the freedom of modern jazz was combined with the strict tradition of Japanese music . With musicians like Masayuki Takayanagi he advanced into the field of free improvisation . His qualities as an arranger were particularly evident in the recordings with his improvisation jazz orchestra at the beginning of the eighties .

Due to the fact that Togashi also had to use his special drums on tours and that special supervisors were required, he was rarely heard at international festivals and there were relatively few contacts with foreign jazz musicians. Steve Lacy , who is a regular guest in Japan, could be heard with him from time to time; also it came u. a. on encounters with Hōzan Yamamoto , Don Cherry , Albert Mangelsdorff , Richie Beirach , Peter Kowald and Lauren Newton . The most important long-term partner was without a doubt the pianist Masahiko Sato . With Sato and saxophonist Kosuke Mine and bassist Nobuyoshi Ino , Togashi played more mainstream hardbop again in the nineties as Masahiko Togashi & JJ Spirits . He also performed with Takashi Kako .

On the occasion of his 40th anniversary on the stage, three albums were created in 1995: as a duo with Steve Lacy , with JJ Spirits and with the more experimental group Inter-Action (in which saxophonist Junji Hirose took the place of Kohsuke Mine ).

Selection discography

(A detailed Masahiko Togashi discography was self- published by Hiroshi Takahashi in Tokyo in September 1995. )

• Sadao Watanabe Quartet: "Dynamic Jazz", 1957 (LP)
• Toshiko Akiyoshi: "Toshiko meets old Pal", 1961 (LP)
• Masahiko Sato Trio: "Paladium", 1969 (LP)
• Masahiko Sato Trio, "Deformation", 1969 (LP)
• Suzuki-Togashi Quintet: "Variation", 1969 (LP)
• Togashi Quartet: "We now create", 1969 (LP)
• Togashi / Takagi: "Isolation", 1969 (LP)
• Miyama's New Herd: "Canto of aries", 1971 (LP)

Togashi solo

• "Rings" 1975 (CD)
• "The face of percussion", 1980 (LP)
• "Scene", 1987 (CD)
• "Passing in the silence", 1993 (CD)

Togashi / Lacy

• "Eternal duo", 1981 (LP)
• "Twilight", 1991 (CD)
• "Eternal Duo '95", 1995 (CD)

Web links

• Masahiko Togashi in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Masahiko Togashi at Discogs (English)