TOGASHI, MASAHIKO

The LP *We Now Create* by Masahiko Togashi was released in Japan on Victor Entertainment and documents a landmark work of the Japanese free jazz scene. The subtitle *Music for Strings, Winds and Percussions* points to the unusual instrumentation and orchestral approach that set the album apart from conventional jazz recordings. The record is regarded as an early, concise statement by the quartet and was released in the late 1960s.

The Togashi Quartet’s lineup features Masahiko Togashi on drums and percussion, Mototeru Takagi on tenor saxophone and corn pipe, Masayuki Takayanagi on guitar, and Motoharu Yoshizawa on bass and cello. The album brings together four pieces—“Variations On A Theme Of ‘Feed-Back’,” “Invitation To ‘Corn Pipe’ Dance,” “Artistry In Percussions” and “Fantasy For Strings”—which combine composed passages with collective improvisation.

Sonically, the work moves in the field of tension between free improvisation and textural sound exploration: Takayanagi deliberately deploys sheets of feedback, Takagi adds a folkloric coloring through horn lines and corn pipe, while Yoshizawa uses bass and cello voices as deep layers of color. In pieces such as “Artistry In Percussions,” rhythmic experiments broaden the spectrum, so the album is to be understood less as a solo record than as a collective study in sound.