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Reviews

Christopher Hale — Ritual Diamonds
(Bandcamp Earshift Records EAR064, 2023, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2024-01-01

Ritual Diamonds Cover art

Australian bassist Christopher Hale met Korean percussionist Minyoung Woo at a festival in 2012, and the two connected over the commonalities and differences between their rhythmic cultures. Hale, with a background in both jazz and flamenco music, started working on music that also incorporated both Korean percussion instruments and rhythm patterns, and Ritual Diamonds is the result. Hale plays six-string electric bass, and often applies techniques akin to finger-picking on guitar for a rich chordal sound; he also contributes percussion and baritone, acoustic, and electric guitars. Woo plays changgo (also spelled janggu, two-sided drum), kkwaenggwari (hand gong), and other percussion. The ensemble is filled out by Jamie Oehlers (tenor and soprano sax), Andrea Keller (piano, Rhodes), Simon Barker (drum kit, percussion), Theo Carbo (guitar), Chloe Kim (percussion on one track), and Nadje Noordhuis (trumpet on two tracks). The six tracks present an interesting blending of styles, sometimes sounding like fairly stock modern jazz with unusual percussion, as on the opener, “Flamenco.” Here I find that Oehlers’ sax takes on a smarmy tone that annoys me, though Carbo’s guitar solo is good. You might normally expect to hear congas and timbales in this kind of music, so Woo’s contributions give the tune an unusual flavor. “Ch’il Ch’ae” fares a little better, with some nice interaction between bass and guitar, and Carbo’s swells of feedback provide a little tension to a sleepy medium tempo that would otherwise resemble generic elevator music. “Radio Mori” is a highlight, with a slightly brisker tempo and more emphasis on the percussion. The only track with a higher energy level is the title track, a brief percussion piece that finishes the album. For my taste, Ritual Diamonds is a wasted opportunity, fusing an unfamiliar rhythmic tradition with pedestrian jazz full of woozy saxophone on tunes that sound too much the same to hold my interest. The musicians seem talented, I just with they’d wake up and play with some real fire.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): Christopher Hale

More info
http://christopherhale1.bandcamp.com/album/ritual-diamonds

 

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