Great musicians were often ahead of their time. Maybe that's why saxophonist Marius Neset is one of the most critically and professionally acclaimed European jazz musicians, but not yet a "folk hero." The man's music has so far been too startling, complex, even visionary. Neset's invitation on September 3, 2022, to the BBC Proms, one of the world's most important classical music festivals in London's venerable Royal Albert Hall, confirms his exceptional status. With his new album, his popularity could admittedly grow: after all, on "Happy" he draws the pop, soul and funk of the seventies and eighties into his world for the first time: "The 'message' of this album, which is in the title, is very simple, but also very strong," says Neset. "We really had a good time recording the album. A week in the studio, day and night, everyone was enthusiastic. The long process of making it just dissolved into happy moments there." Neset admits that in the past he was often influenced by the dark side of world events in his compositions. This time, in light of the many current crises, he decided to do something about it. "Happy Music", then, but without, of course, denying or abandoning his own musical DNA. Already the title track, with which the album also begins, leaves the listener as delighted as completely overwhelmed and shaken - as one is used to from Marius Neset. Like a hurricane, this "Happy" sweeps through the auditory canals, full of quotations (you may hear Stevie Wonder or Cool & The Gang as well as David Sanborn or even Michel Legrand, if you only want to), tempo-laden and in the best of moods, but also full of surprising twists and stylistic breaks. Prelude to an album that lets Marius Neset get to know from some new sides: "Some pieces are rhythmically very experimental, although they are explicitly inspired by the usually simple soul," Neset tells. "The use of keyboards and their sounds was also new to me. It almost leads back to 'Golden Explosion,' my album debut." On "Wildlife," Neset clearly draws on Afrobeats and also West African high-life sound elements - a piece originally composed for a classical orchestra that was now an ideal fit for the intended "new serenity." "A Hand to Hold," on the other hand, is a very classic, quiet ballad the likes of which you haven't heard from Neset in such a purist way. As someone who is known for his dynamics, speed and force in his saxophone playing, this time he explicitly wanted to play "soft" as well. "Diamonds", finally, works primarily with electronically generated spherical sounds. New sounds, then, for which Neset also called on new collaborators. In his return to the beloved quintet - after he had long preferred to write for large ensembles and most recently for the first time only for himself solo - drummer Anton Eger remained the only constant, the man who is able to follow Neset's explosive rhythmic ideas like no other. With the Swedish pianist Magnus Hjorth, an old acquaintance from Neset's beginnings returns: in 2005 he was the first pianist in the trio Phronesis, from which Neset later recruited his accompanists The British component in Neset's quintet is entirely new: "I wanted an electric bassist and a keyboardist for the project. I had already met Conor Chaplin at some gigs, I had his sound on bass in mind when I was composing, he was very fresh and inspiring for me. And of course I had heard a lot of good things about Elliot Galvin. I thought he would be a perfect fit with his unconventional style. And luckily he agreed with me. Quite crucial for the album is the balance that Magnus on the piano and Elliot on the keyboard found for their completely different musical natures. They had instant chemistry, and I'm still blown away by how their opposites complement each other." Neset then placed just as much emphasis on the arc the album would take. And so, after the groove-saturated opening and the excursion to Africa, it's off again on new paths, into still unheard-of expanses and worlds. The switch is flipped by the piece "The Unknown", in which Neset was influenced above all by György Ligeti, as he admits. So in addition to the daring, wild and gladly melancholic Marius Neset, there is now also a "classical", gentle and cheerful one to be experienced. A development that once again delights and is sure to win him new fans.