Drummer and leader Sasha Mashin mixes and matches his trio of bassist Makar Novikov and pianist Benito Gonzalez with a rotating horn section of Josh Evans/tp, Rosario Giuliani/as and Dmitry Mospan/ts on a collection of advanced post bop originals.
The trio shows its form as Gonzalez’s Tyner-inspired piano and Mashin’s deep drums assert themselves on “Flowing” while the three give a rich meditation on the rubato “Night Melody”. Tenorist Mospan’s modal “Incantations” has some preaching from the pulpit and he digs in hard with Mashin on the “impression”-ish “Inner News”. Giuliani is also in a Coltrane mood after Mashin’s intro to the driving “The Hidden Voice” with Evans giving some Hub tones on the sizzling “Sulieman Saud”. The rhythm team grooves like a road crew, creating rich rivulets. Nice flexing of muscles.