Masahiko Togashi

Masahiko Togashi
Born(1940-03-22)March 22, 1940
Tokyo, Japan
DiedAugust 22, 2007(2007-08-22) (aged 67)
Kanagawa, Japan
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
InstrumentPercussion
Years active1954–1969, 1973-2002

Masahiko Togashi (富樫 雅彦, Togashi Masahiko, 22 March 1940 in Tokyo – 22 August 2007 in Kanagawa) was a Japanese jazz percussionist and composer.[1]

Togashi grew up in a musical household; his father was a double-bassist in a swing jazz ensemble, and Togashi learned violin and drums, playing the latter in his father's band.[1] He worked with Sadao Watanabe, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Tony Scott in the 1950s, then founded the ensemble Jazz Academy in 1961 with Hideto Kanai, Masabumi Kikuchi, and Masayuki Takayanagi.[1] Togashi was an early free jazz leader in Japan: his 1965 quartet with Kazunori Takeda, Yosuke Yamashita and Kuniro Takimoto used words as triggers for each player to perform his thoughts about that word.[2] Togashi and Yamashita were part of Watanabe's band in 1966, but Yamashita and Togashi disagreed about rhythms, leading to the pianist leaving.[3] Togashi also performed with American musicians such as Ornette Coleman, Blue Mitchell, Lee Morgan, and Sonny Rollins on Japanese tours.[1] Early in 1969, Togashi and Hiroshi Suzuki co-led a quintet that recorded the album Variation.[4] Another Togashi album from the same year – the quartet We Now Create – was described by critic Teruto Soejima as "a masterpiece of four individuals intensely exploring the true natures of their instruments".[5] Late that year, he recorded duets with Mototeru Takagi for the soundtrack to the experimental film A.K.A. Serial Killer.[6] An edited version of the soundtrack was released as Isolation by Colombia Records.[7]

Togashi permanently lost the use of his legs in an accident in 1970[8] and played only percussion until the mid-1970s when he resumed on drums.[1] Later associations included performing or recording with Paul Bley, Don Cherry, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Steve Lacy, Gary Peacock, Masahiko Sato, and Yuji Takahashi.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Iwanami, Yozo; Sugiyama, Kazunori (2002). "Togashi, Masahiko". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  2. ^ Soejima 2018, p. 18.
  3. ^ Soejima 2018, pp. 28–29.
  4. ^ Soejima 2018, pp. 38–39.
  5. ^ Soejima 2018, p. 41.
  6. ^ Soejima 2018, p. 81.
  7. ^ Soejima 2018, pp. 83–84.
  8. ^ Soejima 2018, pp. 80–81.