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Jason Kao Hwang: Human Rites Trio
ByThis eponymous date presents six tracks that magnify a musical confluence while also playing to puckish divergence. It's a marriage of complete control and artful abandon that's never short on surprise. Human Rites Trio makes that perfectly clear from the outset. During "Words Asleep Spoken Awake: Part I," a bleak and foreboding melody gives way to dovetailing rhythmic interplay, sonic spindles and shards serve as implements of obfuscation, and avant-funk groove-play, with a touch of reggae nouveau, leads to a frenzied drum solo that seals the deal. The song's sequel complement"Words Asleep Spoken Awake: Part II"kicks off in high gear, swinging like mad and operating on the brink of insanity. A return to structure is welcome yet temporary, as Filiano fills the space with the weight of his bow, Drury conjures animalistic art by blowing air into a tube on his modified floor tom, and Hwang plays to suspense. A compelling couplet that holds nothing back, those companion pieces are the perfect glimpse into this trio's language and substance.
Moving from violin to viola, Hwang works with cycling points, explores zero gravity and goes for a bluesy stroll with his trio mates, all the while partially mirroring the titular alliteration in "Conscious Concave Concrete." He returns to that instrument once more for the album's finale"Defiance," a song delineating the virtues in its name with patience, power and curiositybut remains on violin for "2 AM," a number with mildly minacious beginnings and an undulating flow, and the lengthy "Battle for the Indelible Truth," a kaleidoscopic course in uncovering verities. Jason Kao Hwang, Ken Filiano and Andrew Drury know themselves well enough to be lost and found in each other's sounds, and that beauty points to what's right with Human Rites Trio's music.
Track Listing
Words Asleep Spoken Awake: Part I; Words Asleep Spoken Awake: Part II; Conscious Concave Concrete; 2 AM; Battle for the Indelible Truth; Defiance.
Personnel
Album information
Title: Human Rites Trio | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: True Sound Recordings
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Jason Kao Hwang
Album Review
Dan Bilawsky
Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
Human Rites Trio
True Sound Recordings
Ken Filiano
Andrew Drury