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Jason Kao Hwang

The music of 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 extemporaneous, transformational journeys. His most recent releases, The Human Rites Trio (w/Andrew Drury and Ken FiLIANO), Conjure (duo with Karl Berger), and Blood, performed by Burning Bridge (octet of Chinese and Western instruments), are receiving critical acclaim. In 2019, 2018, 2013 and 2012, the El Intruso International Critics Poll voted him #1 for Violin/Viola. In 2017 Downbeat Magazine named his quintet recording Sing House (Eunoymus) as one of the Best CDs of the Year. He was also the co-composer/violinist for Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of The White Snake, presented by Baltimore’s Center Stage. His 2015 CD Voice (Innova), which features vocalists Deanna Relyea and Tom Buckner performing East Village poetry with different ensembles, received critical acclaim. In 2015, his symphony The Challenge: Tiananmen Square, commissioned by the Multicultural Music Group, premiered at Lehman College. In 2014 the New York Historical Society commissioned Mr. Hwang to create music and sound design for its exhibition Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion. This is now in the permanent exhibit of the Chinese Historical Society of America in San Francisco. Zilzal (Innova), his duets with Ayman Fanous (guitar/bouzouki) was named one of the Top CDs of 2014 by All About Jazz/Italy, and was voted into the second round of the Grammy Awards. The first Burning Bridge (Innova) recording, commissioned by Chamber Music America was chosen by numerous publications, including Jazziz and the Jazz Times, as one of the top CDs of 2012. Burning Bridge has performed at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle (Canada), Edgefest (MI), Vision Festival (NYC), Chicago World Music Festival, Bop Shop (Rochester, NY) and the Freer Gallery (Washington, D.C.). El Intruso chose Mr. Hwang’s Symphony of Souls (Mulatta) performed by Spontaneous River, his improvising string orchestra, as one of the Top CDs of 2011. Symphony of Souls was performed at the Edgefest, Vision Festival, Living Theater (NYC) and Brecht Forum (NYC). In 2011, he composed If We Live in Forgetfulness, We Die in a Dream, premiered by the Momenta Quartet at the Museum of Chinese in America. His quartet EDGE toured Poland, with concerts in Posnan, Katowice, and Krakow. They also performed at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Discover Jazz Festival (VT), Edgefest, Vision Festival, An die Musik (Baltimore), Transparent Productions (Washington, D.C.), Brooklyn College (NY) and many other venues.

EDGE released three critically acclaimed CDS, EDGE (2006, Asian Improv), Stories Before Within (2008, Innova), and Crossroads Unseen (2011, Euonymus). In 2010, the New York Jazz Record selected Commitment, The Complete Recordings, 1981-1983 (NoBusiness), from a collective quartet that was Mr. Hwang’s first band, as one the “2010 Reissued Recordings of the Year.” In 2007 he released Local Lingo (Euonymus), his critically acclaimed duets with Sang Won Park (kayagum/ajeng). In 2005, New World Records released Mr. Hwang’s chamber opera The Floating Box, A Story in Chinatown. It was named one of the “Top Ten Opera Recordings of 2005” by Opera News. Mr. Hwang’s long-standing ensemble, The Far East Side Band (1990-2004), which featured taiko, kayagum, tuba and his violin, released two CDs, Urban Archaeology (1996, Victo) and Caverns (1994, New World). Mr. Hwang has received support from Chamber Music America, US Artists International, Meet the Composer/New Residencies, the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Rockefeller Foundation, New York Community Trust, Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, Greenwall Foundation, U.S Embassy in Poland, American Music Center, and Puffin Foundation. As violinist, Mr. Hwang has worked with William Parker, Pauline Oliveros, Karl Berger, Anthony Braxton, Andrew Drury, Patrick Brennan, Michelle Kinney, Tomeka Reid, Oliver Lake, Henry Threadgill, Butch Morris, Will Connell, Jr., Zen Matsuura, Wadada Leo Smith, Steve Swell, Patrick Brennan, Billy Bang, Vladamir Tarasov, Sirone, Jerome Cooper, Jeff Hoyer, Dr. Makanda Ken MacIntyre, Adam Rudolph and many others. Jason Kao Hwang has been artist–in-residence at the University of Southern Connecticut, Music From China, Museum of Chinese in America, and Asia Society. Mr. Hwang has lectured at Westminster, Brooklyn, and Queens College. Mr. Hwang taught Asian American Music, a course he originated for the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University. He was a teaching artist for Meet the Composer and Young Audiences New York, creating cross-curricular methods to teach composition, improvisation, and self-empowerment. Mr. Hwang currently teaches Sound Image in New York University’s Undergraduate Department of Film and Television. (jasonkaohwang.com)

Awards

Violinist of the Year, 2019,, 2018, 2013, 2012 El Intruso International Critics Poll Rising Star Violin, 2017 Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll

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Jason Kao Hwang: Myths of Origin

Read "Myths of Origin" reviewed by Jerome Wilson

by Jerome Wilson
August 20, 2025

Violinist and composer Jason Kao Hwang has worked with groups of every size, from duos up to full orchestras. “Myths of Origin" is one of his large-scale pieces, an imposing 42-minute work for an improvising string orchestra and drum set. It runs without interruption, but the recording breaks it down into nine sections. The music starts slowly, rising in a mass of seething bowed strings with a slight trace of Asian melody. It progresses into a dense cloud ...

Album Review

Jason Kao Hwang: Soliloquies, Unaccompanied Pizzicato Violin Improvisations

Read "Soliloquies, Unaccompanied Pizzicato Violin Improvisations" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
June 24, 2025

Violinist Jason Kao Hwang is the kind of collaborator every creative improviser dreams of having. His résumé reads like a who's who of avant-garde jazz, including partnerships with Butch Morris, Henry Threadgill, William Parker, Ivo Perelman, Anthony Braxton, and Steve Swell, among others. Hwang's musical versatility and deeply intuitive improvisational sensibility have made him a sought-after voice across a wide spectrum of exploratory music. With Soliloquies, Hwang steps away from the dynamic interplay of ensemble work to present ...

Album Review

Jason Kao Hwang: Soliloquies, Unaccompanied Pizzicato Violin Improvisations

Read "Soliloquies, Unaccompanied Pizzicato Violin Improvisations" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
June 16, 2025

Jason Kao Hwang is a child of Chinese immigrants, and previously recorded in Book of Stories (2023), Uncharted Faith (2022), and Human Rites Trio(2022), a CD completed during the Covid-19 pandemic. He places his music, on viola and violin, within the category of avant-garde-jazz-soul-folk. In the abstract, he calls his music “a celebration of life." Some might think his playing most akin to that of a mandolin, for that is the sound he conjures up. Fans ...

Album Review

Joëlle Léandre: Lifetime Rebel

Read "Lifetime Rebel" reviewed by Neri Pollastri

by Neri Pollastri
April 21, 2025

RogueArt presenta questo cofanetto di cinque dischi interamente dedicato alla figura della leggendaria contrabbassista francese Joëlle Léandre, documentando la sua presenza al Vision Festival 2023, tenutosi presso il Roulette di Brooklyn, e aggiungendovi un concerto tenutosi pochi mesi dopo in Francia ed un DVD con un video nel quale l'artista suona alcuni brani in solo durante un'intervista in cui parla della sua carriera. Il primo disco, registrato appunto al Vision Festival il 13 giugno 2023, vede all'opera il ...

Album Review

Joëlle Léandre: Lifetime Rebel

Read "Lifetime Rebel" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
September 25, 2024

Joëlle Léandre is the definition of a force of nature. She is unstoppable, unforgettable, and full of boundless energy. It is the nature of her force that recordings like Lifetime Rebel attempt to capture. These four CDs--plus an interview and solo performance DVD--capture a moment, but just a moment of her inexhaustible spirit, before she moves on. Recorded in 2023, Léandre was honored with a lifetime achievement award during New York's Vision Festival. The performances captured are by diverse and ...

Album Review

Dino Duo: J.A. Deane & Jason Kao Hwang: Uncharted Faith

Read "Uncharted Faith" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
January 22, 2023

The idiosyncratic nature of Jason Kao Hwang's work lends itself to a broad range of collaborative possibilities. Uncharted Faith, a duo recording with electronics artist J.A. Deane, is unique because of both its experimental essence and its personal backstory. Deane (aka, Dino) lost his life-partner in 2019 and went into wooded seclusion to finish a book. The composer & violinist Hwang and Deane had discussed a project and the latter requested some Hwang material to improvise around. On only two ...

Album Review

William Parker: Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World

Read "Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
February 13, 2022

If multi-instrumentalist/composer William Parker's ten-CD Migration Of Silence Into And Out Of The Tone World suggests a cohesive, high concept plan, it is something more. The beautifully packaged clamshell box set is comprised of mutually exclusive projects—one dating back ten years—with some common themes. There is an overall dedication of the music to “all people of the world who are searching for freedom...." Pandemic downtime resulted in Parker's accumulating enough material for many of these albums. Viewed as a whole, ...

Performance / Tour

NYC Salon Concert With David Soldier, Jason Kao Hwang, Gene Pritsker & Robert C. Ford Set for Thursday January 11, 2023

Source: Robert C. Ford
January 11, 2024

On Thursday January 11, 2023, at 7:30pm EST a concert will be held at the Sky Vault in the Financial District of New York City. It will feature original music and poetry by world class performers in an intimate salon atmosphere. This event is private but a free livestream is available via the Ticket Link below to the Facebook event page. Featured performers include David Soldier violin/acoustic guitar, Jason Kao Hwang violin, Gene Pritsker electric guitar and Robert C. Ford ...
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Performance / Tour

Jason Kao Hwang/Edge at Jimmy's, This Sunday, 1/6, 9PM

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
January 2, 2008

Happy New Year! EDGE will be performing music from their new CD Stories Before Within (Innova Records), at Jimmy's this coming Sunday, January 6th, starting at 9pm. Jimmy's, a former speakeasy, is a great place to hear music. Go in, follow the secret passage and find the hidden theater. Sunday, January 6th, 9pm JASON KAO HWANG/EDGE Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet/flugelhorn Andrew Drury - drum kit Ken Filiano - string bass Jason ...
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Performance / Tour

Local Lingo Wednesday, November 28th 8PM at the Issue Project Room

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
November 21, 2007

KIOKU, in-residence at the Issue Project Room, has invited LOCAL LINGO to share a concert. KIOKU is a very creative trio playing compositions incorporating Korean and Japanese rhythms. This will be a great night! Both groups will have new CDs on sale. Hope you can attend. Also, if you want to read about cross-cultural collaborations, log on to the e-zine, Point of Departure. Bill Shoemaker hosts a roundtable discussion with J.D. Parran, Russ Gershon and myself, Wednesday, November 28th 8 ...
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125

Performance / Tour

Jason Kao Hwang / Edge Saturday, August 4, 8PM at Lotus

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
July 31, 2007

Cooler in the Shade 2007 Innovative Music, Intermedia & Free Lemonade

Lotus Music and Dance, 109 W. 27th, 8th Fl. (6th Ave.) 212/627-1076 $10. Sbwy: #1 to 28th St.

Saturday, August 4, 8pm JASON KAO HWANG / EDGE Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet, flugelhorn Ken Filiano - string bass Andrew Drury - drums Jason Kao Hwang - violin, viola, composer

The four manage to meld their ...
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199

Performance / Tour

Reggie Workman's Sculptured Sounds Music Festival Presents Violinist Jason Kao Hwang @ The Downtown Music Gallery, Sun., Jan. 28

Source: All About Jazz
January 27, 2007

Reggie Workman's SCULPTURED SOUNDS MUSIC FESTIVAL presents violinist JASON KAO HWANG

a mini showcase at the Downtown Music Gallery, 342 Bowery, NYC, 212-473-0043.>

The last performer in this January performance series, Hwang is a composer, violinist and educator who has created works ranging from jazz, classical, “new" and world music. Hwang has worked with Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, Butch Morris, Reggie Workman, Vladamir Tarasov, Tatsu Aoki, Frances Wong, William Parker, Sirone and Dr. Makanda Ken MacIntyre. He currently ...
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Performance / Tour

Jason Kao Hwang / Edge Saturday, June 17, 10 pm at Vision Festival XI

Source: All About Jazz
June 17, 2006

Saturday, June 17, 10 pm

Vision Festival XI Angel Orensanz Center 172 Norfolk Street (S. of Houston, near Ave. A) New York City Tix $25/night or $125 for festival pass

presents

JASON KAO HWANG/ EDGE Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet, flugelhorn, Andrew Drury - drum set Ken Filiano - string bass, Jason Kao Hwang - composer/violin

Our new CD will be on sale at the festival.

To buy advance tickets, ...
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Recording

Jason Kao Hwang's new CD Edge

Source: All About Jazz
May 6, 2006

JASON KAO HWANG / EDGE

Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet/flugelhorn Andrew Drury - percussion Ken Filiano - string bass Jason Kao Hwang - composer/violin Asian Improv AIR 0067 Street Date May 30, 2006

Asian Improv Records is proud to announce the release of Edge, Jason Kao Hwang's new quartet CD. Edge is a sharp line shifting between cultures and genres, where sounds dance, vibrations transform and identities are affirmed. Edge ...
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