EDGE Reviews
The third outing by adventurous violinist Jason Kao Hwang’s avant-chamber-jazz group Edge, Crossroads Unseen, consists of five pieces showcasing the stunning extended vocabulary of each member of the quartet.
-- Jazz Times, Shaun Brady - March 26, 2012 more...
Edge, with Hwang on violin and viola, cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, bassist Ken Filiano, and drummer Andrew Drury, has developed into one of most celebratory bands in jazz, a band that can take listeners on journeys of catharsis, or into the mysteries of self-identity, or the spiritual unknown and leave them feeling uplifted, enriched, and even entertained.
-- Point of Departure, Ed Hazell - January 9, 2012 more...
(google translation from German) With Edge, he has a formidable quartet that moves through long contemporary jazz compositions, with harmonic scaffolding, a free scope for solo statements, and sometimes, in very finely dosed essential traces, the forefront of the Far Eastern world of sound.
-- Jazz N'More, P B - December 1, 2011 more...
The EDGE manages to play the music that is unimistakeably jazz (the virtuosic and passionate soloing, the level of real-time interplay, the bluesy base at times or the swinging pulse) yet equally unmistakeably modern (the composition's intricancy, the love for chamber sound and dramaturgy) and intercultural (New York, Asia, folk, rock, classical, blues, jazz, experimental), adventourous, immaginative and disciplined. Quite an achievement but more importantly - just great music.
-- Freejazz Alchemist, Free Jazz Alchemist - November 18, 2011 more...
Edge is a particularly strong, inspired Downtown all-star quartet. Each of the five long pieces show a well-integrated ensemble where each member is integral to the group sound.
-- Downtwn Music Gallery Newsletter, Bruce Gallanter - November 14, 2011 more...
…complex and bouncy writing at times ... “Elemental Determination” is excited and all over the place. I like.
-- monsieur_delire, Francois Couture - November 11, 2011 more...
…each passing splinter of musical dialogue, like the meditative thrusts found on the title track, revealing new knowledge.
-- blogscritics.org, Jordan Richardson - November 10, 2011 more...
…full of Asian colors without being ethnic - a subtly asian-tinged use of space, sensitive as far as harmonic and melodic architectures and interplay, Hwang and his fellows are responsible for a music beautifully cooked up, revitalizing a tradition of free improvisation in showing us the single improvisers shifting their dialogues with fluency and sharpness, cinematic devices and a title track worthy of being listed in a forthcoming best of 2011.
-- London Resonance, Gianpaolo Galasi - November 1, 2011 more...
At times mesmeric, introspective or aggressive, the musical vistas breed lucid imagery from an abundance of ebbs, flows and disparate angles. It's music for the mind, boosted by a highly sustainable form of entertainment.
-- Jazz Review, Glen Astarita - November 1, 2011 more...
If “Crossroads Unseen” is a confirmation of the validity and the constant evolution of EDGE quartet, the album “Symphony of Souls Spontaneous River”, because of its unusual features conceptual and aesthetic by high levels achieved, Jason Kao Hwang located on the threshold of that, in academic terms, is often called a Magnum Opus.
-- Elintruso dot com, Sergio Piccirilli - October 28, 2011 more...
…his violin is unmistakably infused with Asian flavors, although not played as an ethnic instrument…the Big Apple's colorful and spicy sides tighter that the moments of stillness, while the Crossroads Unseen microtones are in their moment of maximum expansion and beauty.
-- mescaline.it, Gianpaolo Galasi - October 28, 2011 more...
Violinist Jason Kao Hwang breaks assumptions of what to expect with stringed instruments… There is tension, drama, release and conviction, done with seriousness which needs and demands persistent concentration.
-- Audiophile Audition, Doug Simpson - October 25, 2011 more...
Striking a delicate balance between freedom and form, Eastern and Western tonalities and dynamic shifts in mood, “Crossroads Unseen” offers a telling appraisal of Hwang's talent for deftly transcending cultural divisions—one that places him at the creative forefront of his peers.
-- All About Jazz, Troy Collins - October 4, 2011 more...
“Crossroads Unseen” is a product of progressive thinking…the recording is based on individual concepts brought together and fashioned into a cohesive body of freestyle musings. Hwang's ability to cross cultures in his music has made him an eclectic composer and an exciting live performer.
-- Associated Content, Susan Frances - October 4, 2011 more...
The notion that the next great force in new jazz could be a violinist may seem a bit incongruous, but Crossroads Unseen is fresh, exciting and creative, and one of the best recordings of the year.
-- All About Jazz, Karl Ackerman - October 3, 2011 more...
...what this recording states is its purpose is the act of sitting and absorbing all the strange and ultimately passionate beauty that Hwang and his Edge. Few composers and performers can produce the spectrum of sound each of the instruments contains as well as these gifted musicians. These are not songs, these are experiences, and they demand full attention both for the sake of releasing stipulations on what music is all about…
-- Amazon, Grady Harp - October 3, 2011 more...
This does not feel like quaint chamber jazz, but high octane stuff at all times… Really good, guarantee this one will be summoned for future KFJC plays in years to come.
-- KFJC Radio, Thurston Hunger - October 2, 2011 more...
…the extraordinary compositions of Jason Kao Hwang. Each unfolds in a flowing sequence of unsuspecting beauty with a startling mix of jazz idiomatic language and Chinese musical materials. His deep intellect and ear for detail is vividly present throughout.
-- Hurd Audio, Hurd Audio - January 2, 2011 more...
OH did they deliver – with everything from a bowed dustpan (yes, that would be a violin bow drawn across the edge of a common household dustpan) to a pocket cornet, great charts(original) and profusely musical moments offered by Jason and Ken. Holy smokes.
-- worldofmusichome.wordpress.com, Cheryl - June 12, 2010 more...
The title, Stories Before Within, perfectly expresses the storytelling that takes place here, as the tales absorb themselves in the spirit of the listener and surpass time to dwell in the province possessed only by imagination.
-- Blogcritics dot org, Jordan Richardson - April 9, 2008 more...
Another brilliant collection of forward-thinking compositions from Hwang, StoriesBefore Within offers a rich blend of jazz and chamber music thatseamlessly merges Eastern and Western traditions into a singular, global hybrid.
-- All About Jazz, Troy Collins - March 22, 2008 more...
It's hard to find four words more likely to condemn an artist to obscurity than these: violin avant jazz fusion. In Huang's case however, it's undeserved. Balanced and compelling, his work is edgy without being pretentious. Worth a listen.
-- Jeff Pinzino
-- Casual Listening, Jeff Pinzino - March 21, 2008 more...
...like the previous release, the music is excellent, open to world influences or modern classical while being predominantly jazz.
-- Free Jazz - Blogspot, Stef - March 18, 2008 more...
"Embers" is a tragic composition, beginning quietly but taking brutally melancholic turns. Hwang's almost prodigious command over his instrument is impressive and "Embers" is an elegiac conclusion to a story of emotions that change so violently as to defy categorization as the last note fades, tragically, the listener is left with something enduring and beautiful.
-- All About Jazz, Karla Cornejo - March 1, 2008 more...
Composer and violinist Jason Kao Hwang and his group Edge return with a story to tell on each of the five tracks on Stories Before Within.Hwang has long been a potent force in assimilating various styles of music, particularly Chinese, Korean and Japanese, with jazz.The result has been a startling cornucopia of thematic dynamics.
-- All About Jazz, Jerry D'Souza - February 22, 2008 more...
JASON KAO HWANG/EDGE Stories Before Within JAZZ TOP 40 CHART #32!
-- College Music Journal, Jenifre Kayoa-Bonaqeraj - February 21, 2008 more...
Jason Kao Hwang/Edge, Stories Before Within -- Composition and improv variations by under-acclaimed New York violin and violist Hwang, who draws on his experience and individualism to cast microtonal studies, with splendid cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, thick-toned bassist Ken Filiano and Andrew Drury, drums.
-- Arts Journal, Howard Mandel - February 12, 2008 more...
His debut album Stories Before Within. Hwang—a violinist—is a fresh stream in Jazz.
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It sounds like the conversations between our inner atoms as we grapple with life and those vibrations. It is provocative and precise...
-- O's Place Jazz Newsletter, D. Oscar Groomes - January 26, 2008 more...
...this is a full on version of shape shifting cross cultural jazz as opposed to world jazz. With an educators eye on the music but a groovers ear to the sound, Hwang and his crew add yet another chapter to his diverse discography that never fails to amaze.
-- MIDWEST RECORD, Chris Spector - January 15, 2008 more...
...an album of richly detailed but gracefully flowing themes.
-- Signal to Noise, Jason Bivins - November 30, 2007 more...
On "Stories Before Within", musicians, compositions, and everything else intersect in extraordinarysynergy. It's a rare occurrence, and even rarer in music as exploratory as Jason Kao Hwang's.
-- Jazz Review, Michael J. West - November 30, 2007 more...
Asian-tinged, avant-garde world music at it's best, "Stories Before Within" is highly recommended for people who like their music a little closer to the edge.
-- JazzChicago dot net, Brad Walseth - November 30, 2007 more...
A fine offering from a first-rate ensemble.
-- Jazz dot com, Ted Gioa - November 30, 2007 more...
The four manage to meld their individual experiences into a group that can swing hard, evoke the pentatonics and timbres of Asian music traditions or blues edge and push toward freedom.
-- Signal to Noise, Michael Rosenstein - September 30, 2007 more...
This disc showcases Hwang's skills as a composer and improviser. Both aspects combine his distinctive fusion of the artful and rustic… He's (Ken Filiano) one of the finest jazz bassists, period. The mercurial Bynum gets better every time I hear him, and Drury is a receptive, agile percussionist. As an improviser, Hwang projects an almost naïve sense of vulnerability – a quality that disappears whenever he's compelled to assert his mastery by letting loose his colossal chops. …This is a compelling example of his work.
-- Jazz Times, Chris Kelsey - September 30, 2007 more...
Hwang plays melodic yet textural compositions...
-- Washington City Paper, Aaron Leitko - July 12, 2007 more...
...other than its strong statements from Hwang, as player and composer, is his ability to attract such an excellent quartet that beautifully interprets Hwang's emotionally charged stratagems. And what a group it is! Taylor Ho Bynum brings his cornet and flugelhorn, Ken Filiano adds his splendid arco and fingers-busting pizzicato bass work and the massively unheralded drummer Andrew Drury continually proves his personal touch with each stroke.
-- Cadence Magazine, Jay Collins - October 31, 2006 more...
Coming to terms with sound heritages that are neither European nor African-American is one of improvised music's newest challenges. Yet violinist Jason Kao Hwang is one player who navigates the contradictions with ease.
-- CODA Magazine, Ken Waxman - October 17, 2006 more...
The album title could easily refer to the incisive sound of Hwang's violin. He also demonstrates a mournful, vocal cry on "No Myth" and bittersweet lyricism on "Grassy Hills." Taylor Ho Bynum's work on cornet complements the violin effectively.
-- DOWNBEAT, Jon Andrews - August 31, 2006 more...
The compositions are also sweeping in content and breadth… Edge is a bid for serious jazz recognition. Jason Hwang's crystalline violin tone and his obvious attention to compositional detail make him a successor to—and a step beyond—out-jazz string players like Leroy Jenkins and Billy Bang.
-- Pop Matters, Will Layman - August 18, 2006 more...
Jason has chosen a perfect quartet to capture his vision, as this group has their own strong sound… "No Myth" opens with some superb violin and cornet interplay, backed by Ken's throbbing bass and Andrew's hypnotic mallet work. This quartet played a great set at the Vision Fest last month… a perfect disc.
-- Downtwn Music Gallery Newsletter, Bruce Gallanter - July 7, 2006 more...
Hwang's writing embraces freewheeling improvisation and rigid through-written composition in equal measure, allowing ample room for interpretation. Balancing intuitive call and response ensemble interplay with rousing chart-driven passages, Edge is an avant garde thrill ride, and a high water mark in Hwang's already impressive discography.
-- All About Jazz, Troy Collins - June 23, 2006 more...
The compositions are strong and the band, when they need to be, is tight. Drury makes smooth but drastic shifts to complement the shifting cinematic pieces, Filiano is solid, Bynum burns and Hwang is inventive as ever. The disc blends to a whole.
-- All About Jazz, Kurt Gottschalk - February 28, 2006 more...
Edge is Hwang's newest ensemble… within contexts framed by Hwang, but only limited by the imagination of the group's members, and with these musicians almost everything is possible… sparks fly in this recording…
-- Jazz Review, Thomas R. Erdman - November 30, 2005 more...
Hwang is one of the more innovative American composer/instrumentalists of his generation… Edge lives up to its name in that it provokes keen listening, which ultimately speaks to the interplay within the quartet.
-- Point of Departure, Bill Shoemaker - November 30, 2005 more...
Stories Before Within is the second disk of its excellent quartet Edge...
-- All About Jazz - Italy, Gigi Sabelli - November 30, 1999 more...
But the Chinese ancestry of the composer does not explain all: this album carries the brand of a very unique musician, a sonorous matter that one cannot take for any other.
-- Citizen Jazz, Diane Gastellu - November 30, 1999 more...
This is music of dramatic intensity, which makes sense coming from this particular free jazzer who has also penned an opera.
-- New Music Box, Frank J. Oteri - November 30, 1999 more...
…the music contained on this CD is intense and emotionally alive.
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Jason Kao Hwang led the quartet through three untitled instrumental pieces, the third of which culminated in a terrifyingly forceful electric violin solo.
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Part poetry, part documentary, "Afterbirth" is a superb film.
-- Library Journal, Julie Semkow - November 30, 1985 more...
