Marius Neset & Leif Ove Andsnes – Who We Are

To Marius Neset, we’ve often wanted to say : “Hey, Neset, don’t try to compete with Michael Brecker or your compatriot and elder Bendik Hofseth. Marius, goddammit, be yourself!”

And now, in a quartet co-directed by a Norwegian pianist of classical leanings and completed by his own sister on flute and a British cellist living in Oslo, Neset (temporarily?) relents of his pyrotechnic virtuosity to show who he really is, under the explicit title of “Who We Are“. Admittedly, the musical context is not very jazz, and the title of tracks like “Chaconne” clearly indicates that. In this formation without bass nor drums, the emphasis is on interpretation of scores rather than improvisation.

But don’t worry: it’s swinging when it needs to, and Neset takes some copious solos here and there when he’s not leading the dance.

What’s more, his three companions are all excellent musicians, and the cellist, whether pizzicato or bowed – notably in “Waterfall Jig”, a splendid duet with a Celtic accent with the tenor – displays a swaying virtuosity that would be the envy of many a bassist.

The new Neset has arrived, then, and the saxophonist offers us, instead of a strong alcoholic brandy, a heady wine aged in oak barrels that we can enjoy drinking without moderation. Chamber jazz, you may say. True, but what’s the problem?

Jazz has always sailed between different types of formations, and from the big band to the simple duet between a piano and a flute (for example), jazzmen/women have been able to thrill fans by offering them unprecedented combinations of timbres.

Sometimes on soprano sax, sometimes on tenor, Marius Neset gives the full measure of his lyrical fiber in the company of partners who have no other aim than to make excellent music, without concern for chapels and categories.

Any true music lover with eager, open ears will find in “Who We Are” something to satisfy their appetite for beauty.

Well done, then, to these four magicians, who take us into territories as contrasting and enchanting as the landscapes of their native Norway, where the Lapp, lurking beyond the Arctic Circle, rubs shoulders with the riparian of the southern fjords, between Bergen and Stavanger.