Makar Novikov
Biography Makar Novikov
Makar Novikov
is an experienced accompanist and virtuoso soloist who has performed with artists like Jimmy Cobb, Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath and James Spaulding.
Born in Moscow, he started to play double bass in 2001 and quickly became one of the most sought-after jazz bassists on the scene. In 2005, he participated in the “Open World Program” of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, allowing him to deepen his musical studies at The New School in New York City in 2005, and graduated from the acknowledged Gnesins’ Russian Academy of Music in Moscow in 2009. Apart from playing with acknowledged Russian jazz musicians (Yakov Okun, Ivan Farmakovskiy, Sasha Mashin, Zhenya Strigalev), Makar Novikov was also regularly touring abroad with international groups, performing at venues and festivals like the Montreux Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott’s in London, Duc des Lombards in Paris, Apollo Jazz Theater and Smalls Jazz Club in New York.
For political reasons, Makar Novikov decided to emigrate to Europe in February 2022. He moved to Italy and started to perform extensively with Italian musicians (Rosario Giuliani, Antonio Faraò, Maurizio Giammarco) and to work as a Jazz Bass and Ensemble teacher for Master students at the Siena Jazz University in 2023.
Makar Novikov moved to Germany in 2024 and is currently based in Berlin. He regularly appears as a band member of projects of Alex Sipiagin, Isfar Sarabski, Carl Winther and Olivia Trummer, performing internationally. Moreover, he is active as a bandleader of an international quintet and preparing the release of his second album “Long Journey” (November 2025), drawing inspiration from and reflecting on his decision to relocate and to start a new life in the heart of Europe.
