Jason Kao Hwang/ Amgydala
Red Hook Jazz Festival, Park on the Corner of President and Van Brunt St., Brooklyn, NY
Jason Kao Hwang - composer, violin, viola Rami Seo - gayageum (Korean zither) Michael Wimberly - djembe, percussion
I am grateful beyond words! Through the generous donations of 91 people, this gofundme campaign raised $6320 by the March 1st deadline. This exceeded our goal of $6000 to pay for the musicians of Burning Bridge, rehearsal studio rentals and transportation costs to record my composition, Blood. The additional funds will be applied to the CD mastering. Though the campaign is officially over, I am leaving the GoFundMe site for donations to help with the CD mastering and production costs. Burning Bridge GoFundMe Campaign.
The recording sessions took place March 11 and 12 at Kaleidoscope Sound in Union City, NJ. I am thrilled with our performance! So blessed to be working with outstanding musicians. Thanks Joseph Daley(tuba), Andrew Drury (drum set), Ken Filiano (string bass) Steve Swell (trombone), Sun Li (pipa), Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet/flugelhorn) and Wang Guowei (erhu)!
Left to Right: Joseph Daley(tuba), Andrew Drury (drum set), Ken Fliano (string bass), Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Steve Swell (trombone), Sun Li (pipa), Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet/flugelhorn) and Wang Guowei (erhu)
Our deepest thanks to: Mimi Hwang, Kaikay Hwang, Scott D. Miller, Tom Swafford, Luis Torregrosa, Philip Perret, Nancy Meli Walker, Ed Hazell, Joseph Daley, Leila Kronenberger, Melyssa Clibbon, Larry Blood, Eric Salazar, Jamie Baum, Carol Kraus, Lynne McVeigh, Ron Alden, Kyoko Kitamura,Wilfred Loh, Taiyo Ebato, Taylor Ho Bynum, Fred Eurich, Rob Miller, Suzanne Lam, Robert & Donna Iannapollo, Douglas Cohen, Peter Pohly, Peter Schulz, Marc Andren, Tom Kohn, Mark Chung, Peter Marter, Han-earl Park, Albey Jane, Kaoru Watanabe, Masaki Yamagata, David Sewelson, Peter Kuhn, Midori Licht, Ken Irwin, Chris McIntyre, Jeff Song, James Keepnews, Dinah Kierstead , Piotr Michalowski, Patrick Frisco, Laura Chen-Schultz, Brenda Vincent, Jean Chiang, Jean Tsien, Dan Edes, Eric Chen, Kathleen Schwallie, Miguel Vidal, Pei Lee, Phil Jones, Michael Resil, William Parker, Florence Barrau-Adams, Diane Moser, Lars Bjorn, Patrick Grant, Stephen Schmidt, David Simons, Robert Sutherland-Cohen, Pauli Hallman, Bill Mazza, Elizabeth Panzer, Alexander Walton, Kenneth Lam, Gregg Miller, Ramsey Ameen, Bill McConaghy, Michael McNeill, Akira Abe, Michelle Kinney, Abby London-Crawford, Geoffrey Lee, Ben Stapp, Patrick Brennan and Anonymous Donors.
Best wishes
Jason KaoHwang
I've consolidated all the press kits under the menu heading "Press Kits." Access is via a new password. E-mail me if you are a member of the press and wish to have access.
Sing House was chosen as one of the Best CDs of 2017 by Downbeat and Cadence Magazines.
Now available on his web site. Click here!
I'm grateful to Giovanni Russonello for his 4/28 review of Sing House in the New York Times Playlist.
On Sing House from the Best Jazz on Bandcamp:
The breadth of influences that composer Jason Kao Hwang is able to call upon, and his willingness to leave wide open spaces within compositions for improvising, strikes the perfect balance between meticulous planning and breathless spontaneity. His newest, Sing House, falls in line with past experiments. “No Such Thing” provides ample, immediate evidence of that push-and-pull, with its turbulent bursts of avant-garde dissonance suddenly settling into joyful expressions of the blues. “Dream Walk” is a panoramic view of a host of musical forms, never fully adopting a single one, always sounding on the verge of phasing into another altogether. “When What Could” takes the opposite approach, allowing jazz forms to manifest with a charged immediacy, while leaving the transitions between each expression a bit fuzzy. It’s this kind of daring that makes a Hwang album so thrilling—that sense of sharp intelligence and creative courage. On his newest, the violinist-violist is joined by drummer Andrew Drury, bassist Ken Filiano, pianist Chris Forbes, and trombonist Steve Swell.
I was violinist and co/composer with music director Jeff Song, and percussionists Yukio Tsuji and Josh Zieman of White Snake at Baltimore's Centerstage. It was a great run of 30 performances.
I led a string ensemble for the Arts for Art Benefit this past fall. We honored Billy Bang and Leroy Jenkins, playing their music.
My new CD VOICE was nominated for a Grammy by Innova Records. VOICE is comprised of two sets, Lifelines and Words of Our Own. Lifelines features Deanna Relyea (voice) and Piotr Michalowski (sopranino sax/bass clarinet) with my EDGE quartet: Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet/flugelhorn), Andrew Drury (drum set), Ken Filiano (string bass) and myself (composer/violin). Words of Our Own features Tom Buckner (voice), Joe McPhee (tenor sax/pocket trumpet), William Parker (string bass), Sang Won Park (kayagum/ajeng) and myself (composer/viola). We perform the poetry of Lester Afflick, Patricia Spears Jones, Davida Singer, Fay Chiang, Steve Dalachinsky and Yuko Otomo. We've received some wonderful reviews.
We honored the late Zen Matsuura, a great drummer and friend.
The BBC has broadcasted two of my compositions performed by Sing House at the recent Vision Festival in NYC
Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion, a superb show produced by the NY Historical Society, had a great run in NYC this past spring. I was honored to have scored music for the concluding video exhibit. The show is now part of the permanent exhibit at the Chinese Historical Society in San Francisco.
My sound design students at NYU Film created some great work this past semester!
Listen to Kevin Whitehead's review of Burning Bridge on National Public Radio's Fresh Air. Listen
Previous events
Jason Kao Hwang: The Challenge, Tiananmen Square
Lovinger Theater, Lehman College, 250 Bedford Park West, West Bronx, NY
With this commission from the MultiCultural Music Group, this music, my first work for full orchestra, will honor and give voice to those who were killed in Tiananmen Square, to those were imprisoned, and to all who's belief in freedom still burns. Though China has attempted to eradicate the memory of Tiananmen Square, this history will not be forgotten.
- Jason Kao Hwang
Panel discussion: Dr. Rowena He, Mr. Fang Zheng, Dr. Luis Muniz, Jason Kao Hwang
Jason Kao Hwang/ Burning Bridge
Jason Kao Hwang - composer/violin Andrew Drury - drum set Ken Filiano - string bass Joe Daley - tuba Herb Robertson - cornet/ flugelhorn Sun Li - pipa Steve Swell - trombone Wang Guowei - erhu
This concert was made possible through a grant from U.S. Artists International. They are supported by the National Endowment of the Arts.
Burning Bridge was commissioned by Chamber Music America/ New Jazz Works.
Jason Kao Hwang/ Sing House
Jazz Shares at the Arts Block Cafe, 289 Main Street, Greenfield, MA 01301
Andrew Drury - drum set Ken Filiano - string bass Chris Forbes - piano Steve Swell - trombone Jason Kao Hwang - composer/ violin/ viola
Amygdala Rami Seo - gayageum Michael Wimberly - djembe/ percussion Jason Kao Hwang - composer/ violin/ viola
Sing House Andrew Drury - drum set Ken Filiano - string bass Chris Forbes - piano Steve Swell - trombone Jason Kao Hwang - composer/ violin/ viola
Andrew Drury - drum set Ken Filiano - string bass Chris Forbes - piano Steve Swell - trombone Jason Kao Hwang - composer/ violin/ viola