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".
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Jason Kao Hwang-composer, violin, viola
Andrew Drury-drum set
Ken Filiano-string bass
Chris Forbes-piano
Steve Swell-trombone
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UPC: 798577025525
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
Get additional information at All About Jazz
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Jason Kao Hwang "Jason Kao Hwang (composer/violin/viola) recently released the CD Sing House, featuring his quintet, and VOICE, which features several ensembles with poetry. Sing House performances include the Vision Festival and Edgefest (MI). Burning Bridge, his octet of Chinese and Western instruments was one of the top CDs of 2012 in Jazziz and the Jazz Times. Performances include the Festival International de Musique Actuelle (Canada) and Freer Gallery (D.C.). The 2012 Downbeat Critics' Poll voted Mr. Hwang as "Rising Star for Violin." In 2011 he released two critically acclaimed recordings, Symphony of Souls, for improvising orchestra, and Crossroads Unseen, the third CD of his quartet EDGE. His opera, The Floating Box, A Story in Chinatown, was one of the top ten recordings of 2005 in Opera News. As violinist, he has worked with Wadada Leo Smith, Pauline Oliveros, William Parker, Anthony Braxton, Steve Swell, Tomeka Reid, and others. Mr. Hwang has received support from Chamber Music America, US Artists International, the NEA, Rockefeller Foundation and others. Mr. Hwang currently teaches sound design at New York University." ^ Hide Bio for Jason Kao Hwang • Show Bio for Andrew Drury "Andrew Drury grew up near Seattle (USA) and works primarily in avant-jazz and free improvisation, with regular forays into other genres and media. He has performed in Europe and North America, made five CDs as a bandleader, and appeared on over 20 others. He is an acclaimed leader of percussion workshops. Drury began drumming in the sixth grade band at his school on Bainbridge Island, Washington. After spending a summer digging a basement under his parents' house with a shovel and pick he bought a drum set and began taking lessons from Seattle drummer Dave Coleman, Sr. He later studied with Ed Blackwell, Bill Lowe, Bill Barron, and the writer Annie Dillard at Wesleyan University. He is a self-taught composer. Drury performs as a soloist, collaborates with adventurous musicians from around the world, and leads several groups that play his compositions. In addition to groups that he leads and frequent encounters with improvisers from various parts of the world he plays regularly with Jason Kao Hwang, Jessica Lurie, Reuben Radding, the Rat Race Choir, the Steve Swell Trio, TOTEM>, Nate Wooley, Jack Wright, and others. Since 2002 much of Drury's music has been characterized by an exploration of new materials and techniques, and by the use of texture as a central organizing element. He frequently performs using one drum, scraping the head with wood slivers and fingernails, manipulating drum head tension and harmonic patterns with bells, using the drum as an acoustic filter and amplifier for vibrations produced on other objects, and using the drum as a wind instrument. Drury's wide ranging interests lead him periodically to explore other media and formats. Inspired by the work and writings of visual artist Robert Smithson, Drury performed and photographed over 20 Earth Solos-site specific drum set solos in desert, mountain, prairie, and industrial settings throughout the western US. He co-created a street theater piece that he performed in streets and political rallies in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Mexico in 1993. In his work with choreographers (Love of the New Gun, Self-Obliteration Companion, etc.) he has created collages of field recordings and percussion samples, with occasional live mixing, percussion, or prepared piano. His music for dance has been presented at DTW, Joyce Soho, NW New Works Festival, and five cities in Romania. Drury has led nearly 1,000 percussion workshops and trainings for music teachers and since 1989. Participants have included people of all ages, backgrounds, and physical abilities in rural and urban areas in schools, prisons, museums, Indian reservations, festivals, villages in Nicaragua and Guatemala, as well as the graduate school of the Columbia University School of Social Work. In 2005 he drummed with homeless people and battered women in ten shelters in Indiana. Following a six-month "Millennium Project" residency with the Oneida Nation in 2000 the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation identified him as "one of the most skilled and experienced community artists in America." Drury has received 18 grants for his work from the NEA, NYSCA, NYFA, the Seattle Arts Commission, the Artist Trust, the Puffin Foundation, and others. He lives in Brooklyn, New York (USA)." ^ Hide Bio for Andrew Drury • Show Bio for Ken Filiano "Ken Filiano performs throughout the world, playing and recording with leading artists in jazz, spontaneous improvisation, classical, world/ethnic, and interdisciplinary performance, fusing the rich traditions of the double bass with his own seemingly limitless inventiveness. Ken's solo bass CD, subvenire (NineWinds), received widespread critical praise. For this and numerous other recordings, Ken has been called a creative virtuoso, a master of technique ... a paradigm of that type of artist... who can play anything in any context and make it work, simply because he puts the music first and leaves peripheral considerations behind. Ken composes for his quartet with Michael Attias, Tony Malaby, and Michael T.A. Thomspon; a collective with Attias and Tomas Ulrich; and for his decades-long collaborations with Steve Adams and Vinny Golia. His prolific output also includes performances and/or recordings with artists including Bonnie Barnett, Rob Blakeslee, Bobby Bradford, Taylor Ho Bynum, Roy Campbell, John Carter, Nels Cline, Alex Cline, Connie Crothers, Mark Dresser, Ted Dunbar, Marty Ehrlich, Giora Feidman, Bob Feldman, Eddie Gale, Georgian Chamber Orchestra, Dennis Gonzalez, Lou Grassi, Phil Haynes, Fred Hess, Jason Hwang, Joseph Jarman, Sheila Jordan (with the Aardvark Orchestra), Raul Juarena, Joe Labarbera, Joelle Leandre, Frank London, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Tina Marsh, Warne Marsh, Dom Minasi, Hafez Modirzadeh, Butch Morris, Barre Phillips, Don Preston, Herb Robertson, Bob Rodriguez, Roswell Rudd, ROVA Saxophone Quartet, Ursel Schlicht, Paul Smoker, Chris Sullivan, Peeter Uuskyla, Fay Victor, Biggi Vinkeloe, Kenny Wessel, Andrea Wolper, Pablo Ziegler. With Tomas Ulrich, Elliott Sharp, and Carlos Zingaro, he is a member of T.E.C.K. String Quartet. Ken has been a guest lecturer, performer, and workshop leader at institutions in the United States and Europe. He earned a MM from Rutgers University and is currently on faculty at Mansfield University."- All About Jazz ^ Hide Bio for Ken Filiano • Show Bio for Chris Forbes "Chris Forbes, an accomplished classically trained composer, jazz pianist, and music educator, has composed for symphonies, chamber groups, jazz ensembles, and musical theater. His performances and works have been described as "infectious" with "incredible energy and passion." His choral work, Song of the Stars, was featured on National Public Radio's Choral America, and is now available on CD. His musical, RoadRage, was premiered at the IN Series, Washington, DC and called a work of "terror and whimsy" by Theater Review. One of Chris's most recent works, The Sea Lion, a one-act dance theater piece, was commissioned by the American Composers Forum and premiered in Chicago. This classically inspired work was heavily influenced by jazz and world music, meshing different forms of expression to explore uncharted musical ground. It featured a percussion ensemble and improvised solos by acclaimed jazz flautist, Nicole Mitchell. In addition to his commissioned compositions, Chris is a rising star in the New York improvised music scene. He has appeared in venues from Jazz on the Park to the FreeStyle series at CBGB's in the Bowery, The Knitting Factory and mostly recently Roulette. He has collaborated with musicians such as Nicole Mitchell, Matt Lavelle, Ras Moshe, Sabir Mateen Joe McPhee Roy Campbell and Daniel Carter. Projects include a duo with tenor sax sensation Taylor, and the piano chair in the Latin/Free Jazz band Morcilla. He recieved his training at the Berklee School in Boston and at Juilliard." ^ Hide Bio for Chris Forbes • Show Bio for Steve Swell "Born in Newark, NJ, Steve Swell has been an active member of the NYC music community since 1975. He has toured and recorded with many artists from mainstreamers such as Lionel Hampton and Buddy Rich to so called outsiders as Anthony Braxton, Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor and William Parker. He has over 40 CDs as a leader or co-leader and is a featured artists on more than 100 other releases. He runs workshops around the world and is a teaching artist in the NYC public school system focusing on special needs children. Swell has worked on music transcriptions of the Bosavi tribe of New Guinea for MacArthur fellow, Steve Feld in 2000. His CD, "Suite For Players, Listeners and Other Dreamers" (CIMP) ranked number 2 in the 2004 Cadence Readers Poll. He has also received grants from USArtists International in 2006, MCAF (LMCC) awards in 2008 and 2013 and has been commissioned twice on the Interpretations Series at Merkin Hall in 2006 and at Roulette in 2012. Steve was nominated for Trombonist of the Year 2008 & 2011 by the Jazz Journalists Association, was selected Trombonist of the Year 2008-2010 , 2012 and 2014-2015 by the magazine El Intruso of Argentina and received the 2008 Jubilation Foundation Fellowship Award of the Tides Foundation. Steve has also been selected by the Downbeat Critics Poll in the Trombone category each year from 2010-2016. Steve is presently a teaching artist through the American Composers Orchestra, Healing Arts Initiative , Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center (Bronx), the Jazz Foundation of America and Leman Manhattan Preparatory School. Steve was also awarded the 2014 Creative Curricula grant (LMCC) for the project: "Metamorphoses: Modern Mythology in Sound and Words" which was taught in a month long residency at Baruch College Campus High School in Manhattan." ^ Hide Bio for Steve Swell
12/11/2024
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12/11/2024
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12/11/2024
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12/11/2024
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12/11/2024
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Track Listing:
1. No Such Thing 13:53
2. Dream Walk 12:00
3. When What Could 11:14
4. Inscribe 12:18
Improvised Music
Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Quintet Recordings
Melodic and Lyrical Jazz
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