The 27-year-old Copenhagen-based Norwegian saxophonist-composer made a huge splash with his Edition debut Golden Xplosion in 2011 and has been of late lighting up the international stage with his exhilarating sax-led live shows. As a saxophonist he draws as much from such soulful post-bop stylists as Michael Brecker and Chris Potter as he does his compatriot Jan Garbarek. But he also has that extra edge in terms of his unusually swashbuckling approach to composition. He ups the ante considerably for Birds, his second for Edition that borders on the kind of outsize, virtuosic, quasi-symphonic ambition that once gave 1970s prog a bad name. But Neset has the musical substance and imagination to back up his ferocious technique and big ideas; there is never a dull moment on Birds. The saxophonist extends his core quartet consisting of the musicians who make up Phronesis (pianist Ivo Neame is in for Django Bates who was on his Edition debut), with a wider instrumentation that includes five brass players, accordionist Bjarke Mogensen, sister Ingrid on flute and first-call UK vibraphonist Jim Hart. Neset shows a flair for arranging, using instrumental colours tastefully and timing their entries perfectly. While the clash of rhythmic patterns and odd meters remains a hallmark of his writing, he tempers it with an ear for a great melody that, coupled with a fiery, zigzagging narrative, can evoke Frank Zappa, while there are echoes too of his mentor Django Bates' large ensemble work, especially on the connecting title track and finale ‘Fanfare’. There are always fresh diversions around the corner: the sprightly chamber classical piece ‘Spring Dance’ shows off his sister's expressively fluent skills on the flute, while the gorgeous folk-ish dreamscape of ‘Math of Mars’ could be an alternative soundtrack to a contemporary Hollywood sci-fi epic.