Masahiko Togashi

Born in Tokyo, Japan on 22 March 1940, Togashi revealed prodigious talent on both violin and percussion. He entered the professional ranks as a drummer while still in his early teens. A strong standing soon followed across his native country through work with Sadao Watanabe and additional partners, as well as through direction of his own compact ensembles. Late in the 1960s physical setbacks redirected him from drums toward a broader array of percussion instruments and deepened his engagement with composition. He maintained leadership of groups, continued writing, and sustained partnerships with musicians from Japan and abroad, among them joint performances alongside Masabumi Kikuchi and a 1981 duo session recorded with Steve Lacy. Command of an extensive percussion palette let him insert precise sonic details into live sets that imparted subtly foreign shadings.