Masahiko Togashi Quartet
Sketch
Denon Jazz (Japan) 1977
YX-7516-ND (LP) w/insert.
sleeve : VG+(WC, TEOC, wear on edge and corner, dirts.)
media : EX/EX(some slightly noises.)
This album, released in 1977 by Japan’s great drummer and percussionist Masahiko Togashi, who continued his musical career despite becoming paralyzed from the waist down after a spinal injury, features a quartet with Masazo Nakagawa (flute, alto sax, percussion), Takashi Kako (piano), and Keiki Midorikawa (bass, cello, percussion). The album is a studio recording of "Sketch," which was first performed at the Masahiko Togashi Quartet First Concert held at Zojoji Hall in Tokyo from March to May of the same year. This remarkable performance represents the evolution of free jazz that Togashi developed in the 1970s, characterized by boundless improvisation based on pre-determined scores. The standout track, A1, features a floating array of percussion that swells and subsides alongside a minimalist piano refrain reminiscent of Don Cherry. Track B2 syncs with the avant-garde jazz of the Chicago AACM collective.