Masahiko Togashi was part of the band around Sado Watanabe and with Masahiko Sato, Masayuki Takayanagi and Yosuke Yamashita one of the most important protagonists of Japanese free jazz in the 1960s. During his career he played with Don Chery, Steve Lacy, Charlie Haden, Mal Waldron and Paul Bley. Spiritual Nature from 1975 is probably his best known recording.
UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. Unlike conventional CDs, UHQCDs are not pressed from polycarbonate, but rather cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. Another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied to protect the softer photopolymer from scratching. The combination results in a significantly reduced reflection of the laser light inside the CD and an unequaled precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with normal CD players. Musically, the result is a sound that is strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.
