GA Russell Posted October 15, 2019 Report Share Posted October 15, 2019 Jason Kao Hwang "Conjure" Impacting: September 24 2019 Format(s): Jazz Artist Title Time Jason Kao Hwang Prophecy 04:24 Jason Kao Hwang Silhouettes 07:01 Jason Kao Hwang Beyond Reach 07:04 Jason Kao Hwang Vanishing Roots 06:09 Jason Kao Hwang Faith 05:59 Jason Kao Hwang Below Zero 03:52 Jason Kao Hwang Water Finds Water 13:07 Jason Kao Hwang Arise 06:09 I want to thank the moment and circumstance in time that got us together for this music. – Karl Berger Karl Berger (composer/piano/vibraphone) is a six-time winner of the DownBeat Critics Poll as a jazz soloist. He is also the recipient of numerous composition awards, including commissions by the NEA, NYSCA, the Rockefeller Foundation, and many European radio and television stations. He has recorded and performed internationally with Don Cherry, Lee Konitz, John McLaughlin, Gunther Schuller, the Mingus Epitaph Orchestra, Dave Brubeck, Ingrid Sertso, Dave Holland, Ed Blackwell, Ray Anderson, Carlos Ward, Pharoah Sanders, James Blood Ulmer, Hozan Yamamoto, and many others. Founder and director of the Creative Music Foundation, Inc., and creative leader of the Creative Music Studio, Karl’s recordings and arrangements appear on many labels, including Atlantic, Axiom, Black Saint, Blue Note, Capitol, CBS, Columbia, and Double Moon. ------ It was a crisp, sunny March afternoon when I drove up to Woodstock to record with Karl in his home studio, which is named after his wife, Ingrid Sertso, a great vocalist. Having played in Karl’s Creative Music Orchestra, we were familiar with each other and understood that our music of that day would be spontaneous and unpredictable, as life is. Without written score or any predeterminations we opened ourselves to each other into the unified mystery and light conjured within each of these journeys for which I am grateful. – Jason Kao Hwang The music of Jason Kao Hwang (composer/violin/viola) explores the vibrations and language of his existence through compositions of transformative journeys. He currently leads the octet Burning Bridge, quintet Sing House, and the Critical Response and Human Rites trios. In 2019, 2013 and 2012 the El Intruso Jazz Critics Poll voted him Violinist of the Year. The 2012 DownBeat Critics’ Poll voted Mr. Hwang as Rising Star for Violin. As composer, Mr. Hwang has received support from Chamber Music America, US Artists International, and the NEA. As violinist, he has worked with Tomeka Reid, William Parker, Pauline Oliveros, Anthony Braxton, Butch Morris, Oliver Lake, Henry Threadgill, Reggie Workman, Ivo Perlman, Patrick Brennan, and many others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted February 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 Conjure Karl Berger – piano/vibraphone Jason Kao Hwang – violin/viola Reviews Read full reviews at jasonkaohwang.com Contact: jkhwang@icloud.com Google Translate: ... the two created these fragile and delicate moments, rich in musicality and feeling, one on violin and viola, the other on piano and to the vibraphone. They are engaging atmospheres in which the accent moves on pathos, communication, beyond the desecrating or angry moments of the free with which the two in the past have had to do. Among the most beautiful moments Below Zero, with the pizzicato on Hwang's violin that meets the vibraphone, is a very special atmosphere that the two manage to create in improvisation. Overall it is an incision without moments of emptiness, which involves the listener from beginning to end, of two musicians in a state of grace who had something real to say to each other and made it public. - Vittori LoConte, musiczoom.it I believe you too will discover some rare and very meaningful sounds here, spontaneous dual compositions of a remarkably high level of attainment. Kudos to Maestros Berger and Hwang! Grego Appelgate Edwards, gapplegatemusicreivew.blogspot.com Google Translate: ... the two created these fragile and delicate moments, rich in musicality and feeling, one on violin and viola, the other on piano and to the vibraphone. They are engaging atmospheres in which the accent moves on pathos, communication, beyond the desecrating or angry moments of the free with which the two in the past have had to do. Among the most beautiful moments Below Zero, with the pizzicato on Hwang's violin that meets the vibraphone, is a very special atmosphere that the two manage to create in improvisation. Overall it is an incision without moments of emptiness, which involves the listener from beginning to end, of two musicians in a state of grace who had something real to say to each other and made it public. - Vittori LoConte, musiczoom.it If it’s philosophical music, it’s far from dull music. There’s life, laughter, landscape and an affirmative lightness that is hard to resist. – Brian Morton, Jazz Journal Subtle, beautiful, haunting, masterful and delicately commanding, the duo of pianist and vibraphonist Karl Berger and Jason Kao Hwang on violin and viola recorded these 8 dialogs in Berger's Woodstock studio, their familiarity from Hwang's participation in Berger's Creative Music Orchestra summoning lyrical and sensitive music, finding profundity in restraint. - Squidco Conjure by Karl Berger and Jason Kao Hwang stands as a masterful combination of both jazz and classical styling which makes for an incredible listening experience. - Vincent Teneriello, kuci.org Known as two of the best current improvisers, Hwang and Berger illustrate a stunning chemistry on this unpredictable and exciting record. -takeeffectreviews.com This other meeting, between Berger and Hwang, shows two musicians who interact without dilute their identities, celebrating free music and giving carte blanche to the deepest human emotions. (google translation) - Antonio Branco, Jazz.pt It’s a beguiling album from beginning to end; the music is strong and unsentimental, but at the same time gentle and deeply empathetic. It’s quite magical. – Ed Hazell,Point of Departure It’s a beguiling album from beginning to end; the music is strong and unsentimental, but at the same time gentle and deeply empathetic. It’s quite magical. – Ed Hazell,Point of Departure Wonderfully spontaneous unpredictable creativity Karl Berger-Jason Kao Hwang – CONJURE: The magic is with these two on their all-original wonderfully spontaneous and unpredictable recording (to be released 1 October, 2019)… Karl’s piano/vibes and Jason’s violin/viola will summon spirits from your inner depths and take you on a journey like you’ve never been on before. - Rotcod Zzaj, Contemporary Fusion Reviews Conjure..features eight improvised pieces that show their constantly openness to the moment... The opener, “Prophecy”, confirms that their voices make sense together. Berger launches the journey with a low-toned piano pedal, angular musings, and some caustic chordal movements. For its part, Hwang’s melodic narrative is as dramatic as it should be, and we can almost sense the tears suggested by his violin cries. - Felipe Freitas, Jazz Trails Listening to Hwang coax amazing sounds by plucking his strings on “Vanishing Roots” or Berger’s unpredictable piano chords and vibraphone notes may be unlike anything you’ve heard from a duo. - Jim Hines, makingascene.org Together, these two talented instrumentalists color outside the lines with an audacity and freedom that startles the senses. - Dee Dee McNeil, jazz journalist, musicalmemoris.wordpress.com While there is solid justification for the genre police to tag this music as free jazz or pure improvisation, that act of classification would ultimately be a waste of time...This duo typically thrives on uncertainty while exploring a variety of textural subtleties. - by Dan Bilawsky, Jazz Times ***** Liltingly lyrical, the duo’s compositions continue to impress, as does their impeccable musicality... Not only are the performances excellent, but also the messages within them are profound... Multi awarded and critically acclaimed, this recorded experience further substantiates the importance of these two exceptional musicians. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, amazon.com These are two practiced masters at free improvisation. I am confident that many listeners will find them as intriguing and accomplished as I do. - Michael Ullman, artsfuse.org A meeting of the minds of two experimental cats owning cv's you can't argue with tune it up for a date that sounds more like contemporary classical than it does experimental jazz improv. With the kind of simpatico that comes from a relationship of long standing, those that want to hear sounds from some corner of the cosmos will enjoy what these two can come up with all on their own. - Chris Spector, midwestrecord.com The two artists seem perfectly at ease with each others directional inclinations and they add some unexpected twists and turns to the path that they spontaneously create, leading the music in a direction that is unpredictable to both the listener or the musicians... My favorites are "Silhouettes" that features Berger on a hollow, hauntingly echoing vibraphone line that sets the theme of being caught in a phantasmagorical loop, as Kwang plays his piercing violin like a captured entity, mesmerized by the repeating sounds. Caught like a silhouette entranced by Berger's drone. There is a desperation and lack of resolution to this music that is just captivating and at the same time eerily spooky. - Ralph A.Miriello notesonjazz.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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