Jazz: Jason Hwang's Glass Shadows 
  
Jason Hwang's Glass Shadows, which performed Sunday afternoon at the Blue Note, is geared for Mr. Hwang's rhapsodic, atmospheric pieces. Mr. Hwang's writing fuses jazz improvisation with the timbres of Eastern music; he writes long, multisectioned pieces that float in and out of conventional tonalities and rhythms. 
  
The lineup of Glass Shadows Mr. Hwang on violin, Bryan Carrott on vibraphone, Sirone on bass and Yukio Tsuji on Asian percussion produces a bright sound, with a wide gap between high and low registers and a surprising flexibility of tone. Mr. Tsuji's percussion arsenal includes a man-sized daiko drum, water drums with shifting pitches and one-headed Buddhist fan drums of various sizes sounds rarely heard in improvised music. 
  
In its second set Sunday, the group played three pieces. The Sound of Earth" mixed a funk-flavored beat, angular themes and extended solos, including a fluently jazzy excursion by Mr. Carrott and an urgent, astringent solo by Mr. Hwang, with sliding notes recalling Chinese opera vocals. Ice Age" featured eerie sounds and a waltzing, minor-key melody; Cloud Call" was a tinkling, up-tempo piece with a leaping melody and an interlude of birdlike sounds. 
  
Mr. Hwang's pieces could sometimes use editing; at times, they get carried away with sheer sound. Frequently, however, Glass Shadows creates music that is taut, delicate and highly original. 
  
- Jon Pareles, The New York Times,  January 2, 1986