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Producer and Host at University Radio Station, San Luis Potosi, S.L.P., MEXICO.
"The Alchemy of Matter and the Bow: *Second Life* by the Human Rites Trio"
By Alberto Gutiérrez
In the hands of violinist and composer Jason Kao Hwang, the violin’s voice ceases to be a conventional melodic conduit, transforming instead into a tactile scalpel—capable of slicing through silence and engaging in dialogue with the most disparate materials.
Released on October 1, 2026, via the label True Sound Recordings [TS07], *Second Life* marks the second recording from the Human Rites Trio—a group led by Hwang alongside double bassist Ken Filiano and percussionist Andrew Drury. Following their self-titled debut (TS03), this new chapter elevates the trio’s telepathic interplay to a level of intimacy and instrumental risk-taking that is truly hypnotic.
The Polyphony of Objects: Instrumentation Without Borders
Forged in the New York crucible—with roots bridging the jazz tradition and the symphonic avant-garde (informed by historic collaborations with figures such as Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, Butch Morris, William Parker, and Henry Threadgill)—Hwang finds in Filiano and Drury his ideal musical interlocutors.
The album’s sound is built upon an unconventional timbral palette, where the boundary between composition and improvisation dissolves entirely:
Jason Kao Hwang: Violin and compositions.
Ken Filiano: Double bass (notable for his masterful work with the bow and in solo passages).
Andrew Drury: Drums, gongs, aluminum pots, stainless steel bowls, a Tibetan prayer bowl, bells, seed pods, oyster and mussel shells, woodblock, cowbell, a bronze gear, and a sink-faucet trim piece.
The Four Seasons of the Soundscape. The album presents 45 minutes of music divided into four expansive, episodic, and deeply organic works:
"Galaxies spin below before it": A rhythmic opening in which the trio’s drive occasionally evokes the unmistakable, tribal swing of Ed Blackwell, interwoven with flashes of expansive violin.
"What to Keep, What to Let Go": Built upon somber, contemplative opening and closing sections, in which silence functions as an instrument in its own right.
"Second Life": The album’s central suite—a dreamlike architecture where telepathic improvisations feel like meticulously composed scores.
"Ricochet": An exercise in collective intensity and pure rhythmic tension, in which the three virtuosos push their interaction to the very edge of friction.
(The complete scores and study materials for these compositions are available to researchers and musicians via the composer’s official archive.)
Reasons to explore this release:
Group telepathy: Having shared stages across numerous projects for over two decades, the trio possesses a cohesion that allows them to function as a single sonic organism.
Timbral archaeology: By incorporating everyday metallic objects and organic elements, Drury provides the rhythm section with a palette of colors and resonances that extends well beyond the traditional jazz drum kit.
Formal balance: Episodic compositions that unfold with impeccable internal logic, transitioning from heart-wrenching lyricism to the boldest abstraction.
Title: Second Life
Group: Human Rites Trio (Jason Kao Hwang, Ken Filiano, Andrew Drury)
Composer: Jason Kao Hwang (Flying Panda Music, BMI, 2026)
Label: True Sound Recordings (TS07)
Release Date: October 1, 2026