Collaboration By David Mash

 

Collaboration

By

David Mash

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

It has been amazing to connect with such a great jazz performer of the genre like David Mash, he is a composer, producer, guitarist, and electronic musician of great quality, and the eagerness to which I set forth to write a review for his latest release called Collaboration is one of excitable energy. His last creation in 2025 Back to my Roots was a sublime piece of work. This musical voyage of plenty doubly so, it is 4 four tracks of some of the finest multi-instrumental jazz work I have heard for years.

The opener is the lively and passionate, a full force gale of Ictus Sanctus; this album highlights Mash’s long-standing focus on blending electronic sounds, jazz composition, and live instrumentation, working with collaborators he’s connected with throughout his career. Ictus Sanctus is likely a nod to Mashes old progressive jazz band of yesteryear, and is a stunning fluent cohesive blend of musical segments and instrumentation, especially the totally rhythmic pulsating pastiche of the brilliant Ricardo Monzon on Percussion.

Collaboration the title track, is simply smooth and transcendent, this is one of those jazz songs you could listen to all day and feel more chilled with each bar, with each note and progression. Mash on guitar here is ultimately sublime, this track is the mantra for the album, the central theme of the release with musicians interacting, ideas blending and magic being made, and at times it reminded me of the live work I remember back in the ‘80s from jazz funk band Level 42, but smoother in context.

Then we have a real treat, now everyone should know that I am a long form music fan by now, I have a radio show based on the style, and an album of my own with four long form pieces on, and I know exactly how hard it is to create something so vast, but Mash does it here with utter ease. Personally I love this piece, it’s called TNS and I have now invested 44 minutes and 10 seconds of my life into listening to it, and doubtless there will be more time spent within its musical confines, its superb and a prime example of how to manifest a truly classy long form offering. The meaning of it, my research came across was completely understandable from a musician’s perspective, and a Transcutaneous Nerve Stimulator is a device given to relieve pain by sending low-voltage electrical pulses through the skin. This is a piece that one could leave on whilst reading, sitting in a bar drinking or having a coffee out somewhere, anything really that would enhance the moments of utter bliss that this track provides, at times memories of when Stevie Wonder created a long form piece of Living in the City, come to mind, or when Level 42 had the audacity to manifest a 10 minute version of Hot Water, all amazing soulful offerings like TNS. The lush soundscapes on offer on this track need to be listened to thoroughly and in depth, from the percussion to the keyboard work, and something as an electronic musician I love the synth side of things, add all of those jigsaw pieces of musical craft together and you are left with a wonderfully magnificent offering like TNS, with ease coherent for its entire duration, and one of the best long form pieces I have heard this century without a doubt.

The album concludes with the funky offering, and something I hadn’t heard of for a while, the track Bionic Man. There is even a reggae feel to this offering that manifests a warm vibe to the piece that makes it so charming; here we have a groove-driven rhythm that is undeniable, perhaps this last manifestation highlights Mashes love of technology and music, and the symbiotic relationship it can have.

Here is a superb album that one can be happy to invest in, David Mash one of the masters of symbiotic jazz fusion had gifted his fan base something truly special, hats off to the team behind it George Russell Jr on Piano, Sean Skeete on Drums, Winston Maccow on Bass, Ricardo Monzon on Percussion and Bruce Nifong ob Sax, Flute, and EWI, and all on one of the best Jazz releases of the current century, it’s that good, and a sure fire hit for Collaboration by David Mash must be on the cards.