Norwegian saxophonist Marius Neset doesn't so much release a new album as open the floodgates from one of the most exhilarating and productive imaginations currently attached to a musical instrument.

There's a vibrancy about Neset's music that, even in his most reflective moments, gives off a feeling of energy and ideas being taken to the nth degree of interest and, at full-flow (as on the galloping, dizzying Summer Dance), notes tumble forth in invigorating, hectic ecstasy. The listener might indeed feel like a pinball pinging around in a maelstrom of creativity but Neset's great strength is that he can make complex music pull you along in its slipstream so that it consistently excites and moves with each change of mood. This fourth album is his strongest, most persuasive yet, with a core band of keyboards, vibes, double bass and drums (augmented by occasional flute, violin and cello) buoying Neset's variously choppy, simple, gargantuan and profound tenor and soprano melodies as they exercise their considerable, magnetic charm.

Rob Adams