Norwegian saxophone star Marius Neset combines Brecker's power and Jan Garbarek's tonal delicacy. Happy is an album of delight and pure joy!

180 gram Black Virgin Vinyl with a free Download Code included!

'Marius Neset combines Brecker's power and Jan Garbarek's tonal delicacy' (The Guardian) and 'makes his instrument dance like a gazelle and soar like an eagle, and he's an ingenious composer too.' (Telegraph) Downbeat described him as 'not only an impressive technician but also a formidable composer.' His unique path of achievement continues: Neset will make his debut on the main stage of the Royal Albert Hall at the prestigious BBC Proms on 3 September 2022. On 'Happy' Marius Neset draws for the first time on the pop, soul and funk of the 70s and 80s. The name is the game, this is genuinely happy music, which nevertheless doesn't either deny or abandon anything of Neset's own musical DNA. And yet there is something else going on in the title track 'Happy' which opens the album: delight and pure joy. It may be a wild ride, but the unmistakable felling of happiness finds its way deep into the listener's ear as well. The music is full of quotations (Stevie Wonder and Cool & The Gang as well as David Sanborn...), the tempo is full-on, the mood is definitely 'up', but it is also full of surprising twists and stylistic clean breaks. The piece acts as a prelude to an album which allows Neset to explore new directions: 'Some pieces are rhythmically very experimental, although they are explicitly inspired by the simplicity and authenticity of soul,' Neset tells us. 'The use of keyboards and synth sounds was also new to me.' On 'Wildlife', Neset clearly is drawing on Afrobeats and West African high-life sounds. 'A Hand To Hold' is a completely classic and quiet ballad - this pared-down purity being a new departure for Neset. As someone who is known for his dynamism and for the velocity and power of his saxophone playing, this time the dial has been set for a different destination: softness. Finally, 'Diamonds' is another kind of adventure, as Neset plays over ethereal, electronically generated sounds.

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