1 	Essence (Part 1)	
2	Essence (Part 2)
3 	Tidal Wave

Percussion – Masahiko Togashi
Piano – Richard Beirach

Masahiko Togashi. Japanese jazz drummer and percussionist. Born March 22, 1940; died August 22, 2007. Togashi was acclaimed as a jazz drummer from his teens, when he played in Sadao Watanabe's group. He was a pivotal figure alongside Masahiko Sato, Masayuki Takayanagi and Yosuke Yamashita in the development of free jazz in Japan in the late 1960's.

In 1969 Togashi lost the use of his legs in an accident, but he developed a new drum-kit and returned to playing eighteen months later. Togashi has collaborated with many overseas jazzmen, including Don Cherry, Steve Lacy, Charlie Haden, Mal Waldron and Paul Bley. His best known record in Japan is probably 1975's "Spiritual Nature".

As his physical condition worsened Togashi retired from active playing in 2002, devoting himself to composition and painting.

Richard Beirach, 23 May 1947, New York City, New York, USA. As a child, Beirach studied both classical and jazz piano before attending the Berklee College Of Music and the Manhattan School of Music. He graduated from the latter in 1972, promptly joining Stan Getz. Shortly after this, he began a long-term and hugely productive association with Dave Liebman. In order to fulfil the broad-based musical demands of Liebman’s group, Lookout Farm, Beirach also began playing keyboards. Nevertheless, his preferred instrument remained the piano. Although this particular group of Liebman’s was soon disbanded, Beirach later became a member of the saxophonist’s group, Quest. In the meantime, he had formed his own group, Eon, and had worked with John Abercrombie’s quartet. Beirach has played and sometimes recorded as sideman with many other leaders, including Chet Baker, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Konitz and John Scofield. Musicians with whom he has collaborated as leader or co-leader include Abercrombie, George Coleman, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette and Liebman. Throughout the 90s, Beirach had a highly productive working relationship with the French-born saxophonist Henrik Frisk.

In his composing and playing, Beirach’s twin musical influences make their presence heard. The classical side is brought out in his compositions through intriguingly mixed echoes of late nineteenth-century romanticism and twentieth-century angularity. Beirach’s playing reflects an array of pianistic influences, notably the dazzling yet diverse styles of Art Tatum, Bud Powell and Bill Evans. Nevertheless, he achieves an exceptionally individualistic sound, partly through a near-classical pastoral impressionism, marking him out as a piano player of consequence. --- jazzmusicarchives.com

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1. Door (Lacy) 08:43
2. Orange (Togashi) 08:07
3. Action (Togashi) 09:40
4. In The Pot (Togashi) 08:37
5. Cliches (Lacy) 14:38

Steve Lacy - soprano saxophone
Jean-Jacques Avenel - bass, calimba
Masahiko Togashi – drums

Over the course of his career, which spanned more than 50 years, the Masahiko Togashi strived to broaden the exposure of Japanese jazz and bridge Western music with the traditional sounds of eastern Asia.

Born in Tokyo on March 22, 1940, Togashi began his musical education with the violin at age 6 and later took up drums. He made his debut as a professional drummer at 14 with his father’s Swing band, and appeared on his first recording three years later with Sadao Watanabe’s Cozy quartet. Togashi would go on to form his own quartet, releasing his group’s debut album, We Now Create, in 1969.

A spinal injury in 1970 left the jazz percussionist permanently paralyzed from the waist down, and he would play the rest of his life seated in a specially designed wheelchair. His physical disability limited his international travels and festival appearances, but he frequently played with musicians who visited Japan. Most notable among these was saxophonist Steve Lacy, who performed and recorded extensively with Togashi during his 12 tours in Japan. One particular recording, Bura-Bura featuring Togashi and Lacy along with Don Cherry and Dave Holland, is a must-hear and has been reissued on two CDs by ALFA. --- jazztimes.com

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