Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Daniel Herskedal: The Roc

5

Daniel Herskedal: The Roc

By

View read count
Daniel Herskedal: The Roc
The Roc is Norwegian tuba player Daniel Herskedal's follow-up album to his 2015 recording for Edition Records, Slow Eastbound Train which like its predecessor again features Eydolf Dale on piano and Helge Andreas Norbakken on percussion. However, that record also benefitted from the massive Trondheim Soloists chamber string orchestra.

A pastoral beginning with "The Seeds Of Language" belies the nature of the ensuing tracks, things taking a more overtly oriental turn on the title track and beyond. Specifically, there's a clearly perceptible Arabic influence running through the album, derived from Hersekdal's travels through Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. These geographically-based motifs are especially evinced by Bergmund Waal Skaslien's lustrously serpentine viola playing. The titles of many of the tracks reflect the Middle Eastern character of the pieces. Such as "Eternal Sunshine Creates A Desert," "Kurd Bayat," "Nahawand To Kurd" and "Hijaz Train Station."

Although both his albums have a similar quality to them, what is notable here is how Herskedal can obtain such a full sound with just a quintet, as opposed to his previous record using a trio with a full string orchestra. Another praiseworthy element is the lithe richness and versatility of Herskedal's tuba playing. Whilst his music is generically not in the same ball park as that of other, more obviously jazz inspired tuba players such as Bob Stewart and Howard Johnson, he shares the same ability as those tuba pioneers to push the instrument to the fore and utilise the skill of subtle improvisation within the context of notated composition.

A mesmerizingly dramatic soundscape is manifested by the rich strings of Bergmund Waal Skaslien and Svante Henryson on the quirkily titled "There Are Three Things You Cannot Hide: Love, Smoke And A Man Riding On A Camel." Equally entrancing is Eyolf Dale's tintinnabulating piano on "All That Has Happened, Happened As Fate Willed." Throughout the album, the listener cannot fail to be transported to another place of heat and dust and occasionally, to another dimension entirely.

Track Listing

The Seeds of Language; The Roc; Eternal Sunshine Creates A Desert; Kurd, Bayat, Nahawand To Kurd; Hijaz Train Station; Thurayya Railways; The Afrit; There Are Three Things You Cannot Hide: Love, Smoke And A Man Riding On A Camel; The Krøderen Line; All That Has Happened, Happened As Fate Willed.

Personnel

Daniel Herskedal: tuba, bass trumpet; Bergmund Waal Skaslien: viola; Svante Henryson: cello; Eyolf Dale: piano; Helge Andreas Norbakken: percussion.

Album information

Title: The Roc | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Whirlwind Recordings Ltd

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Daniel Herskedal Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.