American Roots in a Nordic mood: "Trail of Souls" links the American gospel and spiritual tradition with the Norwegian sound aesthetic.

The album „snowmelt“ is Neset's most ambitious, cherished and personal project to date. In these concentrated works, Neset has sought out chaos and dissonance, he has also been drawn to lyricism and tenderness, and then worked at finding a balance between the extremes, using compositional methods which subliminally bring out the continuities between them. Neset says of this work that he aspires to is to “find the point when everything makes sense.” For the listener, the search for that point will bring its own rewards.

Pablo Márquez: guitar

A new beginning for Tonbruket: Some of the tracks are extremely soft and gentle, romantic, acoustic, jazz-inspired, while others use prog rock as a springboard from which to make the short leap into heavy metal. The pieces the band plays can differ hugely from each other in shape, intensity and stylistic origin. The result of this is that the listener's attention tends to be drawn away from the specific and from the moment-to-moment, and towards the totality of what is happening. 

“Marius Neset is one of the great new tenor sax players of our age, in the tradition of Michael Brecker and Jan Gabarek” (Jazzwise). After his excursion into the bigger band format on his ACT debut “Lion” with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Neset now returns to the compact quintet (with guests) for “Pinball“. Neset and his companions present a shimmering kaleidoscope of forms of expression and influences and delight with compositional and instrumental complexity. At the same time, Neset sounds more mature, soulful and melodic than ever before.

Ursula Oppens, Bruce Brubaker: pianos

Alfred Schnittke: Suite im alten Stil (1972)
François Poulenc: Sonate pour violon et piano (1942/43, rev. 1949)
Valentin Silvestrov: Hommage à J.S.B. (2009)
William Walton: Toccata for violin and piano (1922/23)
Luigi Dallapiccola: Tartiniana seconda (1956)

Natascia Gazzana: violin
Raffaella Gazzana: piano