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Track Listings
| 1. Introducing: Golden Xplosion |
| 2. Golden Explosion |
| 3. City on Fire |
| 4. Sane |
| 5. Old Poison (XL) |
| 6. Shame Us |
| 7. Saxophone Intermezzo |
| 8. The Real Ysj |
| 9. Saxophone Intermezzo II |
| 10. Angel of the North |
| 11. Epilogue |
Product Description
Review
Bates plays piano and keyboards on Golden Xplosion, Neset’s second album, with the rhythm section from Phronesis – Jasper Høiby on double bass and Anton Eger on drums – completing the line-up. In such distinguished company, Neset shines on both tenor and soprano saxophones, displaying rhythmic flair and the ability to produce inventive solos even at the most testing tempos.
All 11 tracks are Neset compositions; as a composer, he displays the same sense of melody as in his solos. The album opens stunningly with a complex duo between Neset on tenor and Bates on trumpet in which the two interweave and complement each other beautifully. However, when this segues into Golden Xplosion, things change dramatically.
Played by the quartet, with Bates on keyboards and E-flat horn, the title-track begins promisingly but soon degenerates into an exhausting mish-mash of multiple time signatures – shouted by the players, for some reason – and sampled sirens. Altogether, it is over-busy and Neset sounds like he is trying too hard. As his co-producer, Eger should maybe have had a quiet word with him. Sadly, the next track, City of Fire, does little to retrieve the situation and it too makes uneasy listening.
In total contrast, at the heart of the album is a series of tracks on which Neset plays unaccompanied, allowing space for his creativity. On the first, Old Poison (XL), he is credited with "tenor saxophone (no overdubs)" – necessary as he manages to sound like several saxophonists playing together. Saxophone Intermezzo I and II plus Epilogue achieve a pastoral tranquility reminiscent of Neset’s countryman Jan Garbarek.
There is plenty on Golden Xplosion to suggest that Neset is well-equipped to be massive in the future, provided he can build on the strengths of this album and avoid repeating its worst excesses.
--John Eyles
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Review
Mark the name. At 25, this Norwegian saxophonist will surely be a major figure on the European jazz scene if this astonishing - and astonishingly personal - album is any indication. 5/5 stars --Irish Times
Twenty-five year old saxophonist Marius Neset is a marvel. He makes his instrument dance like a gazelle and soar like an eagle, and he's an ingenious composer too. 5/5 stars. --Ivan Hewitt, The Daily Telegraph
Customer Reviews
Of course, both on record and even more live, Marius Neset dominates this music, through his quirky compositions and his up-front Sax playing - mostly raucous Tenor, but sometimes on Soprano where he can be more lyrical. Neset is truly a virtuoso on Sax and live his ability truly astounds. I think that you have to see him play to actually believe what he is doing and the sheer amount of energy comes across live in performance, in a way that could never translate to recordings.
So having seen both, I would have to give the live show 5 stars and the recording 4 by way of comparison. I also have slight reservations about Django Bates as the ideal support in this. So I can appreciate that as a mentor and teacher he must be incredibly inspiring and motivating - but as a performer, his own quirkiness starts to intrude on the overall sound. I much preferred Ivo Neame's subtle piano comping throughout the gig and track 4 "Sane" shows what this group can be like.
Both Jasper Hoiby and Anton Eger are exemplary throughout. The former's tone and rhythmic playing are top-notch on every track where he plays. While the duets between drums and sax were the highlight of the live show - with each urging the other on, with greater and greater energy and feats of dexterity. When the band play altogether as a band this is great, accessible modern Jazz.
However, Neset has a desire to take this further and uses electronics as well as his phenomenal technique to become a solo performer in his own right. Seeing this live is interesting and amazing - on record it can become a bit repetitive and samey - alternating rhythmic figures in low and high registers of the instrument to make a sort of "minimalist- inspired" solo sax sound.
Anyway - my suggestion is to go and see the band if you can - they are phenomenal live and keep this record as a reminder of that!
He's just too busy,as the BBC review suggests
Marcus is a fine player and you can here this when Bates shuts up !
His solo work is very fine and actually Bates's trumpet playing is good as is the entire band but Bates as a pianist is always too busy and Marcus needs a calmer
more pensive bedfellow to bring out his best
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