Translation of the German review

The cover photo with Sasha Mashin as a runner explains itself if you know the moving history of the Russian drummer. He played a leading role in the cultural and musical scene in Moscow. The Sasha Mashin Happy Lab music workshop took place every week in the city's most important jazz club with the aim of breaking down the barrier between the audience and the stage and thus promoting communication and the exchange of ideas. In this context, the participants initiated new, creative projects.

He also met up with friends once a week for the Sasha Mashin Happy Run. The 10-kilometer run was very popular and followed simple rules: As long as you run, you can learn from each other and exchange ideas across professions. You can think and plan more clearly and precisely, as running releases serotonin and dopamine, which changes your brain chemistry. The Russian conflict changed Sasha Mashin's life profoundly. For him, Happy Run used to mean a Saturday run with friends. Today, this expression means a successful escape for the political refugee. His realization: you can't run away from yourself, but you can leave a difficult past behind and flee from inner and outer darkness.

After the start of the conflict in his home country, Sasha Mashin chose the city of Rome in Italy as his new home. In the two years since leaving Russia, he quickly found new friends in Italy who welcomed him as a person and as an artist. Rome offers him a new home, a new life, a new homeland. His friends have become his family. Now he feels that he has finally finished his run. For the first time in a long time, he feels happy again. The music on the album Happy Run relates to this story.

Sasha Mashin plays with the double bass player Makar Novikov, whom he met on a flight to New York in 2005, when they both flew to the “Open World” program of “The New School”. After a big final concert with other jazz greats at the Blue Note in New York, the two have never stopped making music together. This album also marks a wonderful continuation of their longstanding creative collaboration with alto saxophonist Rosario Giuliani.

47 minutes of playing time are spread over five tracks: Country of Obscurantism, bursting with ideas, is a musical firework display by the three instrumentalists. It is impressive how the artists harmonize despite the complex structures. Yellow Blues shows the band's talent for telling stories with their instruments. For a long time, the double bass, surrounded by the drums, takes center stage. Hey It's Spring is introduced by the alto saxophone and a bowed bass, until staccato salvos lead into a lively jazz experience. This masterpiece is full of surprises. The speed changes are the salt in the soup, all with a very clean performance. The musicians are able to put all the accents in the right places on the wonderful ballad Darn That Dream, which gives me a tremendous fun factor. Suite et Poursuite again has this storytelling character. The trio carves out the piece more and more and finds its way into very deep spheres of jazz. It is impressive that they perform extremely compactly and never lose their way. My respect!

This work shows impressively what a lucky hand Lorenzo Vella has in his choice of musicians for his Birdbox Records label. The recording was spectacularly open. The instruments were captured very cleanly.

The album has a flowing energy, for which the album title Happy Run is aptly chosen. For jazz lovers, this imaginative and melodic work with its intelligently placed time and rhythm changes should be very appealing. I can think of no other recording medium than audio tape that can transfer this performance into the listening room with such energy and attention to detail. Happy Run is one of the best jazz productions of recent years: bursting with ideas, propulsive and modern!

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)