Jason Kao Hwang: Graphic Evidence

To The Endless Embrace of Light adds Wu Man's pipa, a stringed instrument similar in timbre to the shamisen, to the trio. Aoki provides the structure while Wong (on soprano) and Hwang bump the ceiling; Man's papery pipa helps Aoki convey structure. Wong sings sweetly on "Invocation and Resonance, boiling over with Hwang's urgings. Aoki plays percussively on "Microscopic. Wong indulges in shapely phrased melody, as Hwang flies high, wispily swinging from the top of the scale.

Hwang's raw, falling blue wail on "Blood Falling Out-of-Bounds recalls Billy Bang's meeting with William Parker on Scrapbook (Thirsty Ear, 2003). An elegant Wong intro opens "Door Beneath an Arch, setting Aoki's propulsive bass line in motion. Wong rides along, bending and melting, yielding to Aoki's indomitable pizzicato. Hwang and Wong spin ideas off each other as the bassist sticks to the program.

Transparent Tapestry plays a wind chime's song in harmonics. Aoki digs in for some rumbling arco; Hwang and Wong keen a high ending in whispers. Wu Man returns for "Alluvial Fan, this time taking part in the improvisational fun. Aoki holds to an imaginative bass line while the three instrumentalists head in all directions. Each musician maintains a barely audible presence on "Before Memory Begins. Wong blows mostly tuneless wind, with Hwang and Aoki gently tapping and plucking with a frequency that heightens the drama.

Graphic Evidence presents a trio of improvisers confident enough in their art to share tracks with graceful silence, coloring the canvas with disciplined intensity.

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