For those of you who may be unaware, there’s a revolution going on in Russia, a jazz revolution that is. Having already covered a couple of projects from the Rainy Days label, let me borrow some of my words that appeared in another outlet. We’ll get to Sasha Mashin’s new project Happy Synapse in a bit but thought it was important to understand the context first, largely because Mashin also has the A&R and musical producer roles for the label. Mashin explains the label’s mission this way, “of course, in Russia we boast a formidable legacy of classical arts like Russian ballet and Russian classical music, veterans of which including Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Glinka, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Prokoviev etc. We as a label will support openness and creativity in our musicians, aiding them to create new, innovative, bold music, without fearing the potential of hostility from international audiences, in response to this niche art.”
Mashin, the St. Petersburg native, is following his debut from last year, OutsidetheBox and the two parts of Happy Synapse are introducing us to his freewheeling new sextet which he leads as drummer. The group has Josh Evans on trumpet, Rosario Giuliani on alto saxophone, Dmitry Mospan on tenor saxophone, Benito Gonzalez on piano and Makar Novikov on bass. Giulani and Evans played on Mashin’s debut and Mashin and Novakov were rhythm mates for saxophonist and composer Makar Kashitsyn’s inventive Jazz Animals released late last year on Rainy Days.
Comprising eight original tracks (four on each album), each penned by either Evans, Giuliani, Mospan or Gonzalez, Happy Synapse serves as a breakthrough, defining release for Mashin, not only in his professional career but his own personal development. With this release, Mashin commemorates his inspiring recovery from the struggles he encountered with his own mental health. His unique story draws special significance to his experiences growing up in Russia – an environment in which the stigmatization of depression was evident at the time
<P> During his early, formative years throughout the 90’s Russia, Mashin struggled in finding solace. Although the drummer escaped through exercise – running a marathon being one of his most significant sporting accolades – a transformative point came in his first listen of John Coltrane’s Africa/Brass, gifted to him by the leader of a Dixieland band he was a member of at the time. It became a medium through which he could escape his surrounding environment at the time, and from there the drummer found his musical footing.
Mashin says, “Usually, people do not want to share their experience because this kind of talk is really stigmatized in society but a large majority of all adults experience this at least once during their lifetime in different variations… “in my case music and of course, people nearby helped me out of the awful illness I was experiencing. Those happy glimpses are happy synapses at work, exactly like those splashes of color on the dark, black cover of the album – maybe those colors on the cover are the brilliant musicians playing on the album. Maybe this is the magic work of our brain cells. Maybe they represent the music itself that can save the whole world.”
Happy Synapse will be released in two parts – Part I is due out May 8th, with Part II following on May 22nd.
The album opens with “The Hidden Voice” by Giulani. It’s a swinging affair with Mashin opening on drums and McCoy Tyner-like piano from Giulani. In fact, Coltrane’s influence is apparent right away, not only rhythmically but in the aggressive horn spots from all on the front line. Mashin uses it as a track to run to, perhaps for his next marathon stint. “Incantation” by Dmitry Mospan can’t help but remind Mashin of his many days listening to Coltrane in St. Petersburg as Novikov leads in with a bass solo and as the piece builds, the solos are increasingly fiery, especially Evans’ trumpet and Giulani’s alto. A robust ensemble line takes it out. The other two pieces on Part 1 are “Flowing,” a polyrhythmic piece showcasing the rhythm section while “Inner News” from Mospan evokes the sound of Jeff “Tain’ Watts and is a stunning showcase for Evans’ inspired trumpet soloing and Mashin on the traps.
Continuing in this vein, Part II begins with “Sulieman Saud,” by Josh Evans, a direct tribute to the late, great McCoy Tyner, with the piano from Gonzalez played beautifully, indicating he, too, did lots of listening to Coltrane’s classic quartet. Evans, being the writer, of course, carves out space for his own highly expressive solo. “Night Melody” by Benito Gonzalez and rendered as a piano trio is calm and peaceful, self-described as a “slow walk in paradise.”
The brimming “Sim Card” speaks of the friendship between Mashin and Josh Evans. The pair first met in Moscow, while Josh was over performing. Upon asking for Evans’ phone number with the goal of setting up a practice together, the trumpeter explained that he had no Russian SIM card while visiting. In response to the kindness of Mashin, who bought his colleague a SIM card, Evans then wrote this tune as a thank you. He and the saxophonists play as an ensemble while each band member makes an individual statement sometimes standing alone and at others in call and response mode. The project concludes with the aptly named “The Hidden Face of Stars” with the harmonics creating feelings somewhere between being awestruck or deeply immersed in a dream. Evans’ solo seems to climb toward those very stars as he hits the highest notes on his horn as intensity builds to a feverish pitch before Moshpan’s tenor seems to take us out of the exhilarating orbit to restore some order before Giulani relaunches and a short repetitive ensemble passage brings us to an abrupt ending.
In 2005, Sasha Mashin first met Makar Novikov on a flight from Russia to NYC – the pair, unbeknownst to each other before their encounter, were both en route to a two-week program at The New School. During this excursion, this rhythm section – at the time, in its infancy – had the opportunity to develop under the tutelage of Clark Terry, Reggie Workman and Jimmy Heath. The duo continued their musical relationship upon returning to their homeland. Now, upon reflection, the drummer regards this collaboration as another happy synapse correlating to the creation of this album.
These players listened well. In one huge sense this sounds like a big throwback to Coltrane’s Giant Steps period and the many great acoustic jazz ensembles of the ‘60s and ‘70s – hard bop glory. If you love that kind of music, you can’t help but be enthralled by Mashin’s output across these two discs.
