New Circle Geir Lysne

Scandinavian jazz musician Geir Lysne says he had decided it was time to meet new people, make new music and broaden his sphere of activity when he started planning the aptly-titled "New Circle", on which he works for the first time with a relatively small ensemble joined by a panoply of well known guest stars. Although his ensemble only contains five acoustic instrumentalists, New Circle sounds as "orchestral" as his earlier big band albums. The key element here is Reidar Skar, a "true master of the computer," as Lysne says.

“Wartburg” fizzes and shimmers with all the acuity of Michael Wollny's senses and his protean capacity to be alive to the possibilities and the magic of the moment. This is improvising at the limit, life seen through a dream. The album also documents a first-ever encounter of his trio with Emile Parisien, arguably the most influential and original voice on soprano sax today. A unique moment in contemporary jazz.