on Wednesday, 4 March, 2026, saxophonist Marius Neset led his cabaret band featuring Elliot Galvin on piano and keyboard, Conor Chaplin with his electric bass, and the enigmatic Anton Eger on drums. The packed audience was treated to a little over an hour of exceptional playing, energy and exciting compositions.
Usually, with the live reviews I write, I would have typed out the set list at the end of this article having “talked” you through each number as they were presented. That is not going to happen here because one thing this band did not do was talk about the tunes. Most of what was heard may as well have been untitled because the pieces were not identified, which is absolutely fine because the focus is on the music.
The opening track, which may have been Quantum Dance from the Cabaret album, was built around a repeating phrase that moved, stylistically, through lyrical, funky, and contemporary jazz with a calypso vibe with a mesmerising variation in tonal colour, texture and intensity. This proved to an exciting indication of what was to come.
Song For Maja showed the audience that this band was equally comfortable playing softer melodic lines with time and space for the notes to land. There was a wonderful musical arc to this piece with its strong bass line and thoughtful interplay between piano and sax. That reciprocity connecting Galvin and Neset was also apparent on A Hand To Hold, a most delightful ballad that contrasted with the unnamed number that preceded it.
That unnamed piece was a driving, intense fusion like number with stop break timing that highlighted just how good a drummer Anton Eger is. This was further demonstrated on the penultimate track of the evening that included a call and response section between soprano sax, bass, and drums. This number was fun, quirky and jerky before things were smoothed out when the melody kicked in. However, it did return to the opening choppy like section, which I really enjoyed: it made me smile.
The gig came to an end with a fantastic example of how a drummer can lead the variation, tone and texture of a piece while those around him lay out the repeating phrase that grounded this number. Anton Eger threw everything at this tune and gave us a masterclass in jazz drumming. There was a real energy and intensity about this final act that drew the audience in: their response to what they were hearing was palpable and as the last note fell, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club erupted!
I have been a long time admirer of Marius Neset and nothing I heard this evening would diminish that admiration. Likewise, I applaud the playing of Anton Eger – who first caught my attention playing live with Phronesis – who is, quite simply, a force of nature. Conor Chaplin also made his presence felt with some outstanding bass lines that gave real depth to tonight’s sound. That leaves Elliot Galvin, who did the work of two musicians (on the album he plays keyboard, Magnus Hjorth plays piano), and did so with aplomb and the perfect ear to complement the sound of Marius Neset’s sax.
SimplyJazzTalk 