Masahiko Togashi With Don Cherry & Charlie Haden

The great Japanese percussionist Masahiko Togashi (1940-2007) grew up in a musical family – his father was a renowned jazz bassist – and spent his teenage years in the 1950s playing drums for the likes of Sadao Watanabe and Tony Scott. With his own ensembles in the 1960s he went on to play a crucial role in the development of Japanese free jazz, after being inspired by the recordings of Ornette Coleman; he also co-founded the influential Jazz Academy with guitarist Masayuki ‘JoJo’ Takayanogi. An accident in 1969 left him paralysed from the waist down, but with the help of a specially-designed wheelchair and drum kit, his musical jouney continued, with this 1979 date marking a decisive point in the second half of his career.

Recorded in Paris in a trio setting, this is a contemplative session, with Togashi adopting a textural rather than an overtly rhythmic position, and more than holding his own alongside two free jazz A-listers. Charlie Haden's acoustic bass playing is subtle and sympathetic throughout, leaving space for some explosive interplay between Togashi and Don Cherry. The 10-minute ‘Oasis’ finds him providing an energetic percussive counterpoint to the latter's meditative trumpet phrases. ‘Words Of Wind Part 2’ pairs his cyclical drum rolls with Cherry's birdsong-like bamboo flute, while the slow-building closer ‘Rain’ hypnotically mimics the coming of a monsoon. The overall result is a uniquely ‘Nipponese’ take on Ornette's free jazz explorations.

Such was its critical (and in Japan, commercial) success, this exemplary session led to a wave of international recognition for the drummer and further collaborations with the likes of Steve Lacy, Jack DeJohnette, Mal Waldron and Paul Bley.

Song of Soil has been reissued a number of times, but never in this quality. French label We Want Sounds has done a fantastic job in reproducing the original rare Japanese Paddle Wheel LP, complete with obi and insert, and there's a lavishly-illustrated and informative booklet. Given that this is a superbly-recorded session in which space and silence plays a vital role, the mastering and vinyl pressing quality are both also appropriately top-notch. A record to treasure.