By Tom Haugen , takeeffectreviews.com
Together with his band Burning Bridge, violinist Hwang delivers 5 lengthy, continuous tracks of his long standing, improvisational jazz in a cinematic and experimental collision with traditional Chinese sounds
The theme of the album revolves around the trauma of war, and the music reflects that with turbulent percussion, orchestral ebbs and plenty of eclectic, sometimes jarring rhythms. The use of eastern instruments like the pipa and erhu help give the album an even more unique angle, though one could argue that Hwang’s vision regardless of any specific noisemaker would be unorthodox.
Though the record opens with the skittering sounds and shuffling harmonies of “Breath Within A Bomb”, later on heavy grooves on tracks like “Evolution” brings us blues properties, while the album closer, “Declarations”, yields an unparalleled and meticulous interplay between the instruments.
Hwang continues to challenge people’s preconceptions of how jazz is supposed to unfold, as he fuses east and west ideas into a fascinating and intense listen, essentially rewriting world fusion sounds in his own light.