Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Masahiko Togashi was born in Tokyo, Japan on March 22, 1940 and began his musical education with the violin at age 6. It was some time later that the young man 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. However, 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 frequently played with visiting musicians most notably saxophonist Steve Lacy who performed and recorded extensively with Togashi during his 12 tours in Japan, in particular Bura-Bura featuring Lacy along with Don Cherry and Dave Holland.
Drummer Masahiko Togashi passed away of heart failure at age 67 in his home in Kanagawa, Japan on August 22, 2007. Over the course of his career, which spanned more than 50 years, the percussionist strived to broaden the exposure of Japanese jazz and bridge Western music with the traditional sounds of eastern Asia.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Chauncey Morehouse was born on March 11, 1902 in Niagara Falls, New York and was raised in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania where he learned and played drums from an early age. He also played piano and banjo and while in high school led a group called the Versatile Five. He landed a job with Paul Specht’s orchestra in 1922, touring with him through Europe in 1923.
Through the Roaring Twenties Chauncey played with The Georgians, Jean Goldkette, Adrian Rollini and Don Voorhees. He recorded with Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols, The Dorsey Brothers, Joe Venuti and many others.
By 1929 Morehouse was active for the next decade chiefly as a studio musician, working in radio and television in and around New York City. In 1938, he put together his own percussion ensemble which played percussion tuned chromatically.
Morehouse invented a set of drums called the N’Goma drums, which were made by the Leedy Drum Company who endorsed Morehouse during his career. His career in the studios continued into the 1970s when he retired from studio work and began playing jazz again, mostly at festivals.
In his later years Morehouse made appearances at Carnegie Hall for the Tribute to Bix concert for the Newport Jazz Festival, and at one of the early Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festivals in Davenport, Iowa. Chauncey Morehouse passed away on October 31, 1980 in Medford, New Jersey, aged 78.
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ARTEMIS
ARTEMIS is a powerful ensemble of modern jazz masters, founded in 2017 by pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes. Each musician is a bandleader and composer and every performance encompasses inspired arrangements of classics and originals. Performances across North America and Europe at major venues and festivals have garnered high praise from audiences and critics alike.
It is no wonder that ARTEMIS has been awarded #1 Group of the Year in the Annual Downbeat Readers Poll in 2023, 2024 and 2025! Their third recording “Arboresque” was released February 28, 2025. The album is testament to the group’s evolving musical landscape featuring stellar arrangements and riveting originals contributed by all members of the band. Come hear ARTEMIS perform with joy, passion, and high-wire intensity – there’s no other band like it!
Renee Rosnes – piano & keyboard
Ingrid Jensen – trumpet
Nicole Glover – tenor saxophone
Noriko Ueda – bass
Allison Miller – drums
Tickets: $35.00 ~ $45.00 +fee | Streaming: $15.00 +fee
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Norman Connors was born on March 1, 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He became interested in jazz as a child when he began to play drums and while in middle school once sat in for Elvin Jones at a John Coltrane performance. He continuing music studies took him to Temple University and Julliard.
His first recording was on Archie Shepp’s 1967 release, Magic of JuJu and then played with Pharoah Sanders for the next few years. In 1972 he signed with Cobblestone Records and released his first album as a leader. He went on to front some great jazz recordings with Carlos Garnett, Gary Bartz, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Herbie Hancock such as “Love From the Sun”.
By the mid 70s Norman’s focus leaned more towards R&B, scoring several U.S. hits with songs and love ballads featuring guest vocalists such as Michael Henderson, Jean Carn and Phyllis Hyman. He also produced recordings for various artists, including collaborations with Carn and Hyman and also Norman Brown, Al Johnson, and Marion Meadows.
Norman Connors is a drummer, composer, arranger and producer who has recorded for Buddah, Arista, Capitol, Motown and Shanachie record labels; worked with Howard Hewitt, Bobby Lyle, Ray Parker Jr., Peabo Bryson and Antoinette and has since ventured into disco and smooth jazz and urban crossover arenas.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Harold Jones was born on February 27, 1940 in Richmond, Indiana. His early professional years were spent drumming with the Count Basie Orchestra and over a five year span recorded fifteen albums before moving on to work with Sarah Vaughan. He toured the world with her, playing the White House five time. Natalie Cole enlisted him on her landmark album “Unforgettable” and subsequent tour.
He has played with such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Roger Williams, Nancy Wilson and Tony Bennett to Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Smith, Donald Byrd and Benny Goodman to Marlena Shaw, Billy Eckstine, Kay Starr, Carmen McRae and John Lee Hooker on the short list.
As an educator, Jones has held a position on the staff for the Henry Mancini Institute at the University of California in Los Angeles and leads drumming workshops at colleges and universities throughout the country.
He has performed on the Quincy Jones CD, “Count Basie and Beyond,” fronts his own 17-piece big band, The Bossmen, bringing the Basie swing style back by playing for community events and corporate occasions.
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