Marius Neset: Birds

The praise for young Norwegian saxophonist Marius Neset has been pretty breathless since he emerged five years ago with an astonishing mastery of his instrument and the imagination to take it somewhere new. So the world (or at least that part of it which gives a hoot about saxophone players) was waiting to hear if he would follow up his much-lauded 2011 release, Golden Xplosion , with something equally radical. The answer is yes. Birds is a suite of Neset's own compositions, full of wit and surprise, impeccably played by an ensemble that includes pianist Ivo Neame and vibraphonist Jim Hart. Echoes of Hermeto Pascoal, Frank Zappa and Neset's mentor, Django Bates, may be discernible in the writing, but Birds is as fresh and vigorous as any music being made today and confirms the emergence of a remarkable talent. mariusneset.com