Jazz Articles about Jason Kao Hwang

Jason Kao Hwang: Stories Before Within

by AAJ Italy Staff
July 31, 2008

Tra i tantissimi violinisti apparsi negli ultimi tempi sulla scena jazzistica o nelle sue immediate vicinanze va certamente preso in considerazione anche il nome del cinquantunenne Jason Kao Hwang. Musicista di origini cinesi (ma nato in Illinois), Hwang ha lavorato molto non solo in campo jazzistico: oltre ad aver dato il suo contributo a Butch Morris, Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill e William Parker ha scritto per il Teatro, per il Cinema, per la Televisione e ha composto musica da camera. ...

Jason Kao Hwang / Edge: Stories Before Within

by Troy Collins
March 22, 2008

Stories Before Within is the second album from violinist Jason Kao Hwang's three-year-old ensemble, Edge. Their self-titled debut for Asian Improv Records was one of 2006's sleeper hits, a record brimming with stirring melodies, unorthodox arrangements and stunning group interplay. No less imaginative, their follow-up blends Eastern and Western traditions with even greater conviction.

Joined again by cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Andrew Drury, Hwang and company venture even further into Asiatic sonorities, exploring a wide ...

Jason Kao Hwang / Edge: Stories Before Within

by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
March 12, 2008

It is difficult to escape the storytelling element of the new release Stories Before Within. There's that title for one; the cover art prominently displays an open book and the first sentence in the liner notes emphatically declares, “as he prepared his new release by Edge, violinist-composer Jason Kao Hwang was thinking about storytelling." The quartet is led by Hwang (violin and viola) with Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet), Andrew Drury (drums) and the wonderful bassist Ken Filiano. ...

Jason Kao Hwang / Edge: Stories Before Within

by Jerry D'Souza
February 22, 2008

Composer and violinist Jason Kao Hwang and his group Edge return with a story to tell on each of the five tracks on Stories Before Within. Hwang has long been a potent force in assimilating various styles of music, particularly Chinese, Korean and Japanese, with jazz. The result has been a startling cornucopia of thematic dynamics.

Hwang moves into new territory here, setting up his adventures with “Cloud Call," which was inspired by a Ukrainian street ...

Jason Kao Hwang / Sang Won Park: Local Lingo

by Kurt Gottschalk
November 9, 2007

Through the 1990s, violinist Jason Kao Hwang mined an exploration of East Asian music filtered through the improvisatory language of downtown New York. Primarily with his Far East Band--with Sang Won Park on the stringed ajeng and kayagum and Yukio Tsuji on the flutelike shakuhachi, later augmented by Joe Daley's tuba--Hwang created an avant-garde take on the immigrant experience, representing the so-called melting pot of New York City with ingredients that still retain their individual flavors. Hwang ...

Jason Kao Hwang: Edge

by Rex Butters
August 20, 2006

Violinist Jason Kao Hwang gathers a startling quartet to record Edge. Joining him on the front line is cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, his colleague in SpiderMonkey Strings and a fellow Anthony Braxton alumnus. Like Hwang, Bynum has left his mark on some of the premier ensembles of our time, including a tenure with Cecil Taylor. The rhythm sections boasts 9 Winds anchorman Ken Filiano, a mainstay of Vinny Golia's ensembles, and drummer Andrew Drury, late of Wadada Leo Smith and ...

Jason Kao Hwang: Edge

by Troy Collins
June 23, 2006

Edge is the self-titled debut of violinist Jason Kao Hwang's new all-star quartet. Joined by cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum (Fully Celebrated Orchestra, Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor), bassist Ken Filiano and experimental percussionist Andrew Drury, Hwang sets aside his seminal, decade-old Far East Side Band for this new venture. Exploring the edges of different genres (hence the name) with subtle East Asian touches, Edge draws inspiration from a number of divergent styles on the album's four intricate long-form pieces. ...