In jazz, everything seems to go in cycles, and during the last couple of years, the Paris jazz scene has been quietly taking over from Berlin as the happening scene in Europe, with a number of exceptionally talented French musicians – who seemed to have arrived all at once – blazing new paths in European jazz. The poster boy is Émile Parisien, who has been garnering praise and awards by the bucketload. Double Screening is an excellent representation of his talent on both soprano and tenor saxophones and of his longstanding quartet, with founding members Julien Touéry’s and Ivan Gélugne’s association dating back to 2004. Lotterier, who replaced Sylvain Darrifourcq, is a recent member by comparison. What is impressive is how together this band is, everyone singing off the same hymn sheet, making it all sound so effortless. Now 37 years old, Parisien is hitting his prime – he’s a virtuoso player whose balance of lyricism and adventure is so compelling it envelops your attention. He’s given a perfect context in which to essay his huge talent by Touéry, Gélugne and Lotterier, gifted musicians in their own right. The album’s theme tries to fathom the mysteries of our hyper-connected universe where they attempt (and succeed) in a little musical philosophising about whether the digital age is a blessing or curse – can we improvise in a world where everything is predetermined by algorithms? Does poetry have a place in a world increasingly defined by AI? Does originality have a place in a world of samples? Here are some acoustic answers (albeit recorded in digital).