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Jason Kao Hwang: Soliloquies, Unaccompanied Pizzicato Violin Improvisations

By Richard J Salvucci
June 16, 2025
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Jason Kao Hwang: Soliloquies, Unaccompanied Pizzicato Violin Improvisations

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 of Chris Thiele might find the music reminiscent of what Thiele does, but with considerably less direction, drama, or structure.

Hwang's compositions present a nice chromatic profile, and his intonation is good. But the music is extremely abstract and strictly for fans of that genre. Beyond that, as with any highly specialized art, the audience is apt to be limited, if not somewhat puzzled by the material on offer. Listeners searching out tuneful offerings that are comprehensible upon first listening should probably be prepared to do a significant amount of serious work.

Track Listing

At the Beginning; Hungry Shadows; Vagabond; Spinning Coins; Remembering Our Conversation; Where the River Runs Both Ways; Dreams Dream; Silhouettes Lean Forward; Encirclement; Bending Branches into Roots; Shards; Before God.

Personnel

Jason Kao Hwang

composer / conductor

Album information

Title: Soliloquies, Unaccompanied Pizzicato Violin Improvisations | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: True Sound Recordings

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