Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jason Kao Hwang: Edge

232

Jason Kao Hwang: Edge

By

View read count
Jason Kao Hwang: Edge
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 Adam Lane. Together, they take Hwang's direction and incinerate his compositions.

A dramatic fanfare introduces No Myth, then Filiano locks into an undulating bass line for Bynum and Hwang's doubling on the theme. Hwang slashes and slides, duets with Bynum, then turns it over to the blazing horn. Filiano flies a cappella, and Drury solos with the others suspended. Hwang plucks a marching rhythm on "Threads, while Bynum blows through any notion of order. After a brief respite, the rhythm returns with Bynum growling low thunder, and Hwang storms over the rhythm section's tumult.

Rising from a knotty riff, Parallel Meditations flies on Hwang's breathtaking solo trajectory. Bynum dances over the changes, while the Drury and Filiano continue shoveling coal on the fire. The postmodern, pastoral "Grassy Hills has a sullen quality. Filiano takes the first solo, followed by Bynum's searching variations. The slower tempo lays bare his melodic sense, and Hwang approaches his moment in the spotlight as a cry worthy of Billy Bang.

With a flurry of recordings, Jason Kao Hwang stands poised to break through both as an original composer and interpreter of considerable skill.

Track Listing

No Myth; Threads; Parallel Meditations; Grassy Hills.

Personnel

Jason Kao Hwang
composer / conductor

Jason Kao Hwang: composer, violin; Taylor Ho Bynum: cornet; Andrew Drury: percussion; Ken Filiano: bass.

Album information

Title: Edge | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Asian Improv Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




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.