KARL BERGER – JASON KAO HWANG – “CONJURE” True Sound Recordings 

Karl Berger, piano/vibraphone; J.K. Hwang, violin/viola. 

This is modern jazz and exploratory music was recorded spontaneously and without rehearsal. Jason Kao Hwang drove up to Woodstock, California in March to meet Karl Berger at his home studio. Berger founded that music studio with Ornette Coleman and Ingrid Sertso. Hwang had an idea of what to expect, because he had been a part of Karl’s Creative Music Orchestra. They had discussed the fluid parameters of the music and Hwang knew it would be unpredictable and without written scores or predeterminations. The two men share a common goal during this recording; to ‘Conjure’ up the best of themselves and each other, during a recording opportunity that would stretch and expand their artistry. That pretty much explains this project. 

Pianist, Karl Berger, 84 years young, is a six-time winner of the DownBeat Critics Poll as a jazz soloist, as well as several other celebrated awards. He began working as a pianist in Heidelberg, Germany when he was just a teenager. Berger soaked up modern jazz techniques from American jazz musicians he met along his life path. He’s recorded and/or performed internationally with avant-garde musicians like Ed Blackwell, Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders, the Mingus Epitaph Orchestra, Carla Bley and he is creative leader of the Creative Music Studio. His piano virtuosity has accompanied Lee Konitz, John McLaughlin, Gunther Schuller, Dave Brubeck, Ingrid Sertso, Dave Holland, Ray Anderson, James Blood Ulmer, Hozan Yamamoto and Carlos Ward, to list only a few. Karl Berger is also proficient on the vibraphone. 

Jason Kao Hwang is a composer and master of both the violin and the viola. For years he has been exploring the vibrations and language of his existence through self-penned compositions during his transformative life journey. Currently, he leads the octet, “Burning Bridge,” the quintet, “Sing House,” the “Critical Response” and a trio called “Human Rites.” On three different occasions, including this year, the El Intruso Jazz Critics Poll voted him Violinist of the Year. In the past, DownBeat Critics’ Poll voted Mr. Hwang a “Rising Star for Violin.” He has worked with such luminaries as Tomeka Reid, William Parker, Anthony Braxton, Butch Morris, Oliver Lake, Pauline Oliveros, Henry Threadgill, Reggie Workman, Ivo Perlman and Patrick Brennan. These are just a few names from a long list of collaborators. Mr. Hwang often blends Western and Chinese instruments on his projects. He currently teaches ‘Sound Image’ in New York University’s Undergraduate Department of Film and television. 

Together, these two talented instrumentalists color outside the lines with an audacity and freedom that startles the senses. 

By Dee Dee McNeil/jazz journalist

Read at musicalmemoirs.wordpress.com