Violinist/violist Jason Kao Hwang's trio with Ken Filiano (bass) and Andrew Drury (drums) is one of the most finely honed small groups in the improvised music scene...It all comes together on the closing "Defiance", the telepathic interplay, the storytelling, the rotating narratives and the sterling musicianship.  Robert Bush, New York City Jazz Record. Read Full Review

The veteran New York violinist/violist Jason Kao Hwang, who's worked with Anthony Braxton, William Parker and the late Butch Morris, among others, creates work under his own name that resist categorization:  Sometimes it's jazz, sometimes cham,ber music and sometimes entirely uncategorizable ... Which is to say that this is heavy, profound music. - Philip Freeman, Downbeat Magazine  Read Full Review

Human Rites Trio, Downbeat Magazines Best CDs of 2020. See magazine page

2020 El Intruso International Critics Poll votes Jason Kao Hwang first for violin/viola.  See web page

Human Rites Trio, Top Ten Recordings of 2020 by Robert Iannapollo, Cadence Magazine. Read Magazine Page

...features playing of the high-wire, rough-and-tumble variety, the trio's expressions rooted in the rapport the musicians have developed over time. Such unpredictability makes for exciting and engaging music, and the greatest takeaway has less to do with the compositions and more with the always evolving interplay between them.  Ron Schepper, textura.com  Read Full Review

Mirroring the onslaught of the pandemic and our attempts to adapt to a new normal, the angular fits and starts of “Words Asleep Spoken Awake, Part 1” give way to a structured groove and anthemic melody, while “Part 2” transitions from bristling frenzy to haunting elegy. The episodic suite incorporates funk, swing, and free-form sections, with seamless transitions between recurring motifs and individual solos that demonstrate the trio’s uncanny chemistry... - Troy Collins, Point of Departure  Read Full Review

Most spectacularly, on the foot-tapping Conscious Concave Concrete he manipulates the instrument so at various junctures it takes on sitar and guitar-like affiliations as well as mandolin twangs. Without disrupting his low tones, Filiano also achieves guitar-like facility with fluid solos. Incorporating Drury’s cymbal clashes and steel drum-like suggestions, the trio achieves a singular sound which touches on the blues, as well as international inflections. - Ken Waxman, published in the wholenote.com and jazzword.com. Read Full Review

The exciting performances include tracks 1 and 2 (Words Asleep Spoken Awake)  which suggests a King Crimson influence, and track 6 (Defiance) which creates a magnificent sound space through an interplay of bows with his frequent collaborator Ken Filiano. (translation from Japanese), - Takehiko Tokiwa, Jazz Life.  Read Full Review