Jason Kao Hwang - composer/violin/viola
Andrew Drury - drum set
Ken Filiano - string bass
Chris Forbes - piano
Steve Swell - trombone
REVIEWS:
The breadth of influences that composer Jason Kao Hwang is able to call upon, and his willingness to leave wide open spaces within compositions for improvising, strikes the perfect balance between meticulous planning and breathless spontaneity...It’s this kind of daring that makes a Hwang album so thrilling—that sense of sharp intelligence and creative courage. - The Best Jazz on Bandcamp, May 2017
Sharp versus continuous. Forgotten and abiding. Diatonic into toneless. Juxtaposition defines “Dream Walk,” a 12-minute spree from the violinist Jason Kao Hwang’s latest album, “Sing House,” due May 5. His quintet jostles from occasional moments of unison playing into wide-burning group improvisations. Like much in Mr. Hwang’s catalog, this stuff feels both intensely personal and oddly mythic. The performance ends slowly, gravity setting in, a wafting sense of peace in lieu of resolution. - Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times
Never gratuitous, this is wise avant music on the cutting edge, thriving with an unmitigated magnetism, rhythmic resourcefulness, and shimmering lyricism. - Felipe Freitas, Jazz Trail, June 22, 2017
LINER NOTES
The music is a house, with the score’s quintessential melodies, rhythms, harmonies, and textures offering rooms in which musicians extemporaneously sing. In this dramatic architecture, the unique voice of each musician is empowered to individually interpret and also, transcend interpretation to become an originating spirit that is inextricably unified to the composition’s destiny. This is how music grows greater than the imagination of one to become a meta-language of memories, dreams, and hope.
Though this is the first CD of Sing House, my new quintet, we have worked together in various constellations for over ten years. Andrew and Ken were in my past quartet EDGE, and current octet Burning Bridge, project VOICE and string orchestra, Spontaneous River. Steve is also a member of Burning Bridge. Chris and I have performed as a duo and with Steve’s bands. My thanks to all of them and patrick brennan, for their friendship, creativity, and artistry. - Jason Kao Hwang
credits
released May 5, 2017
All compositions by Jason Kao Hwang, p c Flying Panda Music, BMI, 2016
Produced by Jason Kao Hwang
Recorded November 5 and 6, 2015 at Kaleidoscope Sound, Union City, NJ Recording Engineer: Kyle Cassel
Mix Engineer: Jason Kao Hwang
Mix Consultant: Ken Filiano
Mastering Engineer: Paul Zinman, Soundbyte Productions
Photographer: Reuben Radding
Liner Notes: patrick brennan
Special Thanks: Gennevieve Lam
Jason Kao Hwang (composer/violin/viola) explores the vibrations and language of his history. His compositions are often
narrative landscapes through which sonic beings embark upon transformational journeys. In 2019, 2018, 2013 and 2012, the El Intruso Critics voted him #1 for Violin/Viola. The 2012 Downbeat Critics’ Poll voted Mr. Hwang as Rising Star for Violin....more
supported by 8 fans who also own “Jason Kao Hwang/Sing House (2017)”
Any new album by In Order To Survive is a gift that keeps giving. This is no exception, as they continue their rejuvenated run of recordings. Shapeshifter has the clarity of the studio setting merged with the passion of the live setting and stands tall alongside their classics. tachymètre