Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Daniel Herskedal: Voyage
Daniel Herskedal: Voyage
ByBut "Batten Down The Hatches," the opener, is no tranquil outing. Herskedal's tuba combines the roles of a resonant bass and a lead instrument. A deeply pulsating rhythm is established, which Bergmund Waal Skaslien's viola elegantly weaves over.
Pianist and fellow Norwegian Eyolf Dale contributes delicate cascades of notes to the reflective "Cut And Run." Pizzicato viola coupled with Maher Mahmoud's oud on "The Mediterranean Passage In The Age Of Refugees" creates yet another sonic dimension. Mahmoud adds another helping of Middle Eastern- inflected piquancy on "Rescue-At-Sea Operations." Helge Andreas Norbakken is another essential member of the group, mixing in subtle percussive color on numbers such as "The Gulls Are Tossed Paper In The Wind" and "Chatham Dockyard." Punchy, brass-heavy introductions on tune like George Wallington's "Godchild" invite interesting comparisons with Miles Davis's Birth Of The Cool (Capitol, 1957).
Herskedal's rich, booming sound is unlike anything else. The deeply sonorous, plangent melody on "The Lighthouse" is also a reminder of his compositional talent. If one tune needed to epitomise the extraordinary nature of this album, it might be the plaintive "The Great Race, Padua Vs Passat." With Voyage Herskedal manages to combine a natural heaviness with great sensitivity.
Track Listing
Batten Down The Hatches; Cut And Run; The Mediterranean Passage In The Age Of Refugees; The Great Race, Padua Vs Passat; Chatham Dockyard; The Horizon; The Gulls Are Tossed Paper In The Wind; Molly Hunt's Seagulls; Rescue-At-Sea Operations; The Lighthouse.
Personnel
Daniel Herskedal
tubaDaniel Herskedal: tuba, bass trumpet; Bergmund Waal Skaslien: viola; Eyolf Dale: piano; Helge Andreas Norbakken: percussion; Maher Mahmoud: oud (3, 9).
Album information
Title: Voyage | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Edition Records