Jazz

The long-awaited return of Swedish saxophonist and composer Marius Neset arrives in an expansive big band setting, a format that underscores both his ambition and his growing confidence as a large-scale orchestrator. Known for music of formidable complexity, Neset here introduces a more openly festive dimension, without sacrificing the structural rigor that has long defined his work.

Few could have predicted such an outcome when Neset was five years old. At that age, the future saxophonist was handed a drum kit, an early encounter with rhythm that would quietly shape his musical thinking. That grounding remains audible today. Whether writing for a jazz quintet, a symphony orchestra, or, as here, a big band that often sounds closer to a full orchestral ensemble, Neset displays an acute rhythmic intelligence and an unusual clarity of intention. His leadership is marked by concentration and precision, qualities that allow dense material to breathe.

Classical music has been a constant presence in Neset’s language from the beginning, and it remains central to this album. Echoes of Prokofiev’s kinetic drive and Philip Glass’s hypnotic repetition coexist naturally, not as quotation but as structural instinct. For listeners familiar with Neset’s earlier work, particularly Golden Explosion (2011), this album feels less like a departure than a consolidation, an artist refining rather than reinventing his voice.

At the heart of Neset’s creative process lies a defining principle: a refusal to choose. Classical, jazz, pop, folk, these categories appear less as boundaries than as raw materials. His music unfolds as if conceived in multiple dimensions at once, resulting in writing of striking richness and density. That density may overwhelm some listeners, especially on first encounter. Yet for those willing to stay with it, the reward is considerable: music that is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally generous.

This album also reflects a broader pattern visible on both sides of the Atlantic. Many of today’s most compelling jazz composers began with classical training, and that background often translates into a more fully realized approach to orchestration and form. Neset exemplifies this tendency. His handling of instrumental color, ensemble balance, and large-scale architecture forms a clear bridge between classical discipline and contemporary jazz expression. At the same time, his generation is notably open to global culture. Subtle traces of Latin music surface throughout the album, never dominant, but present enough to gently destabilize expectations and draw the listener into a series of vivid musical scenes.

Repeated listening reveals the album’s central strength: fascination. Fascination with the level of musicianship, with the rhythmic vitality that propels even the most intricate passages, and with a big band that consistently achieves the impact of a symphonic force. Even the album’s understated cover art mirrors this balance between apparent simplicity and underlying depth.

While far from immediately obvious, this is paradoxically the most accessible album Neset has released to date. It functions as a synthesis, of his own trajectory, of the current state of European jazz, and of a wider creative moment in which genre boundaries are increasingly porous. In that landscape, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Marius Neset stands among the most significant composers of the 21st century, and certainly one of its most luminous voices.

Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News

PARIS-MOVE, February 3rd 2026

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Musicians :
Marius Neset: tenor & soprano saxophones
Anton Eger: drums & percussion

Bergen Big Band :
Michael Barnes: soprano & alto saxophones, bass clarinet
Paul Fawcus: alto sax, flute, alto flute, clarinet
Elisabeth Lid Trøen: tenor saxophone, flute (2nd solo on #2)
Aksel Røed: tenor & alto saxophone (1st solo on #5)
Thomas Nøkling: baritone & tenor saxophones
Svein Henrik Giske: trumpet
Børge Styve: trumpet
Are Ovesen: trumpet
William Grøv Skramsett: trumpet
Sindre Dalhaug: trombone
Grethe W Tonheim: trombone
Pål Roseth: trombone
Tore Bryne Berg: bass trombone
Dag Arnesen: piano
Ivar Kolve: vibraphone, marimba & glockenspiel
Thomas T Dahl: guitar
Magne Thormodsæter: double bass

Track Listing :
01 The Opening 10:22
02 Time to Breathe 09:58
03 …And Time to Live 08:32
04 Life Can Be Bright 06:01
05 The Unknown 06:03
06 …Time to Reflect 05:00
07 Coming Out 07:12

Produced by Marius Neset & Anton Eger
All music composed and arranged by Marius Neset
Cover photo by Helge Hansen
Recorded by Elaine Maltezos at Lungegårdens Kulturarena, Bergen, Norway, June 2022
Recording Assistant: Mathias Røyrvik
Recording Producer: Martin Winter
Mixed by August Wanngren at Virkeligheden
Mastered by Sofia von Hage and Thomas Eberger at Stockholm Mastering
Additional keyboards on #1, 2, 4 and 7: Morten Schantz
Editing: Elaine Maltezos and Michael Barnes
Artist photos by Helge Hansen, band photo by Stein Hødnebø
Design by Jonas Boström

The recording is supported by Fond for lyd og bilde, Norsk kulturråd and Bergen kommune.
Thanks: Everyone in Bergen Big Band, Anton Eger, Griegakademiet, Davide Bertolini, Den Nationale Scene, Svein Sandvold (M12), Jørgen Lystrup (Creative Technology), Knut Christian Jansson, Magne Thormodsæter, Grieghallen, Paul Fawcus, Henrik Skauge, Leif Herland (Polyfon Studio), Duper Studio, everyone at ACT Music, August Wanngren, Morten Schantz, friends and family.