Focusing on melody, rhythm, harmony, and texture, violinist/composer Jason Kao Hwang's Sing House employs a perceptive and swinging blend of Western and Eastern influences as his impressive band with Andrew Drury on drums, Ken Filiano on bass, Chris Forbes on piano, and Steve Swell on trombone present four lyrical, propulsive and wonderfully embraceable "songs".
Label: Euonymus Records Catalog ID: EU 03 Squidco Product Code: 27163
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2017 Country: USA Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold Recorded at Kaleidoscope Sound, in Union City, New Jersey, on November 5th and 6th, 2015, by Kyle Cassel.
"The music is a house, with the score's quintessential melodies, rhythms, harmonies, and textures offering rooms in which musicians extemporaneously sing. In this dramatic architecture, the unique voice of each musician is empowered to individually interpret and also, transcend interpretation to become an originating spirit that is inextricably uni ed to the composition's destiny. This is how music grows greater than the imagination of one to become a meta on language of memories, dreams, and hope. Though this is the first CD of Sing House, my new quintet, we have worked together in various constellations for over ten years. Andrew and Ken were in my past quartet EDGE, and current octet Burning Bridge, project VOICE and string orchestra, Spontaneous River. Steve is also a member of Burning Bridge. Chris and I have performed as a duo and with Steve's bands. My thanks to all of them and Patrick Brennan, for their friendship, creativity, and artistry." on Jason Kao Hwang
"From the earliest part of his solo career, violinist and composer Jason Kao Hwang has employed an eclectic blend of Western and Eastern influences. His recording roots were no less wide on ranging, beginning with Anthony Braxton's Sextet (Istanbul) (Braxton House, 1995), even if the influences were harder to pin down. Hwang later recorded with William Parker and then Henry Threadgill and Dominic Duval but as he progressed, his music was less married to a recognizable jazz language. He arranged and performed for the Broadway production of M. Butterfly and composed a chamber opera, The Floating Box: A Story in Chinatown.
Sing House reunites Hwang with his EDGE and Burning Bridge colleagues, drummer Andrew Drury, Ken Filiano on bass (from both groups) and trombonist Steve Swell (Burning Bridge). This quintet is rounded out by pianist Chris Forbes. Forbes leads his own trio and is a composer and music educator who has written for symphonies, chamber groups, jazz ensembles, and musical theater. His diverse background makes him a natural fit with Hwang.
There is a return to a more definable jazz model with Sing House though there are subtle Asian influences as well. Each of Hwang's four compositions run into double on digit lengths allowing for vignettes to play out within each. Though there is nothing formulaic about "No Such Thing," it does set the stage for a loose pattern of intricate group improvisations and limited solos from all. "Dream Walk" opens in a reserved manner, works to all on consuming frenzy, and then quietly exits. "When What Could" (with Hwang on viola) and "Inscribe," move from moments of dark to light, reflection to turmoil, but both held together by the anchoring of Drury and Filiano.
Hwang continues to explore musical conditions that appeal to his fascination with the factors that go beyond rhythm, and melody. He relies heavily on his collaborators and their shared presence comes through in each of these compositions, the group channeling their individual strengths into a collective effort. Sing House is a challenging but highly accessible outing."-Karl Ackermann, All ABout Jazz