Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Marius Neset: Geyser

3

Marius Neset: Geyser

By

View read count
Marius Neset: Geyser
Geyser is Norwegian saxophonist Marius Neset's third album with new-music ensemble London Sinfonietta. The piece was commissioned for the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, where this recording was made on September 3, 2022. As on the two previous albums, the Sinfonietta are joined by Neset's high-voltage jazz quintet with pianist Ivo Neame, vibraphonist Jim Hart, bassist Conor Chaplin and drummers Anton Eger.

Geyser is a striking wide-screen work that justifies the use of the frequently abused description "nuanced." Here is why.... In his liner notes, Neset explains that when he began composing the suite, in the autumn of 2021, he had decided that he was done with writing music that reflected the societal and emotional turmoil of the pandemic. The new work would instead be a celebration of optimism and unfettered joy. Much of the first draft was completed by February 2022. Then, that month, Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. Neset went into shock. When he did eventually begin composing again, he found it impossible to pick up where he had left off. Instead, he revisited what had already been composed and dismantled it, loosening the structure and the tonality in many places, periodically setting up conflicting motor rhythms and introducing a feeling of jeopardy. The result is, he says, "a metaphor for how beauty, pleasantness and safety can so quickly be lost."

As Geyser progress through its eight movements, it shifts gradually from dark to light, dissipating the moody atmosphere in which it begins. But it is only in the final minutes of the closing movement, "Outbreak," that the clouds fully disappear and the sun shines in a clear sky. Optimism has returned, and relief, but not unfettered joy.

Neset seems to be increasingly fascinated by working with large ensembles. His 2022 recording, Manmade (Chandos), features him and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra only; there is no jazz band. Neset is an inventive orchestral composer and is adept at creating unusual textures, particularly with woodwinds and strings. While we hear plenty of his robust and lyrical tenor on Geyser, we hear relatively little from the jazz quintet, particularly from Ivo Neame or Jim Hart. Partly this is down to the mix (of a live performance with a lot of bleed between instruments), but it is also because Neset's compositional focus is on the orchestra. This is an observation rather than a criticism, and other listeners may, of course, be perfectly happy with the emphasis.

Track Listing

Part 1 Waterfall; Part 2 On Fire; Part 3 Out Of Sight; Part 4 Under The Surface; Part 5 Lava; Part 6 Flow; Part 7 Meeting Magma; Part 8 Outbreak.

Personnel

Marius Neset
saxophone
Ivo Neame
piano
Jim Hart
vibraphone
Conor Chaplin
bass, acoustic
London Sinfonietta
band / ensemble / orchestra
Additional Instrumentation

Marius Neset: tenor and soprano saxophones, percussion; Jim Hart: vibraphone, marimba, percussion; Anton Eger: drums, percussion.

Album information

Title: Geyser | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: ACT Music

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.