Originally commissioned to bring in the New Year at the Kölner Philharmonie in Cologne in 2016, this is the Norwegian saxophonist-composer Neset's second quintet CD following Snowball. It's a hypnotic and seamlessly energetic work that showcases a kitchen sink of sub-genres that hover between improvisation and composition. A suite-like work, its classical ballet-like chamber sounds coexist with jazz improv settings and oddly-accented latin vamps; meditative Garbarek-ish folk-sax melodies share the stage with high-spirited second line grooves and Loose Tubes-like snaking ensemble riffs, the latter a nod to Django Bates, an important mentor of Neset's in his formative jazz studies in Copenhagen. Lionel Loueke's sonically treated guitar and unmistakeable scats are ingredients that are used sparingly yet effectively. The complexity of his usage of stuttering rhythmic devices, odd meters and intervallic jumps is balanced against a love of simplistic melody lines and supercharged looping riffs. What might sound like contemporary-style idiomatic overkill in some new jazz composer's hands, makes for the highlight of Marius Neset's career so far.