The 29-year-old Norwegian saxophonist/composer Marius Neset has been heralded as a new breed of big tenor players in a lineage that connects up the likes of Michael Brecker and Jan Garbarek. But Neset is more likely to treat his atmospherically extrovert brand of sax as a vehicle for his compositional aesthetic than either of his main influences. For his debut on the German ACT label he extends the instrumental palette further in a collaboration with Norway's progressive Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, which since its formation in 1999 has toured its homeland with leading musicians such as Chick Corea, Pat Metheny and Joshua Redman. Evolving from Neset's commission to compose for the orchestra at the Molde Jazz Festival in 2012, the track selection is also made up of some shrewd rearrangements of tunes from previous album Birds and Golden Xplosion released on the UK's Edition label. Lion is as diverse musically as previous CDs, shifting tastefully and organically between post-Gil Evans symphonic jazz and more intimate chamber ensemble contexts. Collecting inspiration from his former mentor Django Bates through to a Scandi avant-jazz groove featuring the feral baritone horn of Erik Hegdal, Neset glues it all together for the widescreen to a high level.

Jazzwise spoke to Marius Neset about the album

Regarding the tunes you have rearranged for Lion, how much was the aim to stay close to the original spirit of the compositions from Birds?

I was working on both Birds and the project with Trondheim Jazz Orchestra at the same time. ‘Birds’ was composed in that period, and for some reason I had both bands in my head when I wrote it. I played it with both my own band and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra from the beginning, and loved to do that song with both ensembles, also because of the different approach both bands had to it. Other old songs I have rearranged from Golden Xplosion, which I always had dreamed about doing with a large ensemble. It was fun to take these songs and see how much they changed when I had the possibility to add 12 musicians.

Can you say something about the way you think about your sax playing and composing as a single identity?

It's not easy to explain, but I find my best songs, or the songs with a strongest personal identity coming from ideas that I have developed on my saxophone. Often it can start with me improvising in the practice room, and one day there is an idea that I feel has something special, and I can start writing it down, add some bass lines to it, then a groove, chords etc, and one year later it may be a good composition. Or I can throw it away, which happens even more often.

In what ways has Django Bates been an infl uence on your writing/arranging and what other music has had an impact on you in terms of large ensemble writing?

I played in Django's big band Stormchaser when I studied at Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, and we played his music each Friday for 5 years. That was really inspiring. Both the music and also how a band really develops and changes when you play so often together for so long a time. I'm also inspired by great composers as Stravinsky, Ravel, Schoenberg, and a lots of others. Gil Evans, Frank Zappa. I'm trying to pick up what I can from as many as possible. I remember specially one concert that was musically life changing to me. It was summer 2004 when I was on a concert with Michael Brecker Quindectet. I was at the venue 8 hours before the gig to get the best place, and got the first row in the middle, and I still get goose bumps when I think about it. The playing, but also the arrangements, power and colours the large ensemble gave the music. Since then, I kind of knew that I wanted to do some large ensemble projects myself, and it is amazing to now have the chance to do it, and actually tour with it as well, it's going to be really fun to do this summer.