RUSSIA: Sasha Mashin-Outsidethebox (2018)

One Russian equivalent of “outside the box” (вне коробки [vne korobki]), as 41-year-old Moscow-based drummer Alexander “Sasha” Mashin titles his debut leader recording, is the phrase мыслить нетрадиционно (myslit' netraditsionno-“think unconventionally”). Both the literal and metaphorical usages apply to Mashin’s intentions on this kinetic date, on which he and his pianist and bassist of choice propel the flow for separate sets of original music by two of Russia’s most distinguished jazz exports — New York-based trumpeter Alexander Sipiagin and London-based alto saxophonist Evegeny “Zhenya” Strigalev. Call it global jazz with a Russian attitude.

Mashin’s path began in St. Petersburg, where he trained early on as a classical percussionist. He taught himself to play the drumset, studying and internalizing the languages of Buddy Rich, Max Roach, Tony Williams and Elvin Jones in the samizdat manner, from multiple-generation cassettes of their recordings. He was already much-employed on several St. Petersburg scenes by 1995, when Igor Butman — himself a St. Petersburg native — returned to Russia from an eight-year stay in Boston and New York, and hired him for his quartet. In 1997, when Butman opened his first club in Moscow, Mashin followed, and remained, becoming an integral figure in upper echelon... more
credits
released April 20, 2018

Sasha Mashin - drums
Alex Sipiagin - trumpet (1-4)
Zhenya Strigalev - alto sax (5-9)
Makar Novikov - double bass (1-5), bass guitar (7-9)
Alexey Ivannikov - piano (1,2,9), wurlitzer (5-8)

Rosario Giuliani - alto sax (1,3,4)
Hiske Oosterwijk - vocals and lyrics (1,2,4)
Andrey Krasilnikov - soprano sax, alto sax (2,3,4)
Odei Al-Magut - trombone (3,4)
Vladimir Nesterenko - flute (2)
Evgeny Pobozhiy - guitar (3,8)
Anton Davidyants - bass guitar (6)
Alexey Bekker - rhodes (4)
Daria Chernakova - double bass (9)
Kirill Danchenko - percussion (9)
Fidel Alejandro - congas (9)