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| Jason Kao Hwang /Spontaneous River at the Brecht Forum On Saturday, April 14th, 8pm, Neues Kabarett will present Jason Kao Hwang's improvising string orchestra, Spontaneous River, performing his Symphony of Souls at the Brecht Forum. The Brecht is located at 451 West Street (the West Side Highway) between Bank & Bethune Streets. This concert is made possible with the generous support of the Argosy Foundation. This concert will celebrate composer/conductor/violinist Mr.Hwang's acclaimed 2011 CD, Symphony of Souls, produced by David Soldier for Mulatta Records. Symphony of Souls is a spontaneous flow of notated passages and conducted improvisations. As Dr. Thomas Stanley writes in the liner notes, "The orchestra is then summoned to explore soul as both a nexus of dialog and as the motive force compelling action and interaction. "I felt in this one unified sound, I could hear the voice of each soul, " Jason recalls, "The music was a whole tree, but you could hear each individual leaf in motion." Jason Kao Hwang's Spontaneous River Composer, Conductor, Violin: Jason Kao Hwang Drum set Andrew Drury Violin Julianne Carney, Mark Chung, Rosi Hertlein, Elektra Kurtis, Gwen Laster, Amanda Lo, Jesse Montgomery, Skye Steele, Curtis Stewart, Mazz Swift, Midori Yamamoto, Helen Yee Viola Leanne Darling, Nicole Federici, Stephanie Griffin, Josh Henderson, Jessica Pavone, Eric Salazar, Brian Thompson Guitar Cristian Amigo, Marco Cappelli, Bradley Farberman, James Keepnews, Dom Minasi, Tor Snyder, Hans Tammen Cello Martha Colby, Loren Dempster, Gil Selinger, Tomas Ulrich, Alex Waterman Bass Ken Filiano, François Grillot, James Ilgrenfritz, Clifton Jackson, Max Johnson, Pascal Niggen Kemper Conductor and ensemble work together effortlessly in this beautifully balanced and thrilling collaborative effort; it's unlike anything else in Hwang's recorded output. –Ed Hazell, pointofdeparture.com "Symphony of Souls" is a massive effort and as I listen, I hear different themes evolving and growing. There are deep, dark and churning seas of strings moving at different levels. - Bruce Gallanter, Downtwn Music Gallery Newsletter Music is written to speak to the soul - and this does. - Grady Harp, amazon.com …this is complexly engaging music that covers much ground. It fills the interstices between new improvisatory music, modern jazz and avant orchestral-compositional practices. And it does so in ways that enthrall, excite, agitate and make tranquil, intrigue and overwhelm, and open up passages to new soundworlds. - Grego Applegate Edwards, Classical Modern Music In the eleven movements that make up the work, find a dazzling sound-based catalog resonances created by the multiple combinations, sometimes simultaneously, in other random-of the different timbres of strings, alternating sequences deliberate ascetic introspective and dramatic passages or spectral and visually rich plastic that seems inspired by a mimesis of nature and human spirituality(translation). - Sergio Piccirilli, elinstruso.com "Symphony of Souls" is more than the nexus of improv and organization; it is a transformed method and a commitment to discharge art from the broad-shouldered boundaries of the page and the chart. It is about communication, energy and sheer passion. And it smokes. Jordan Richardson, blogscritics.org The whole thing sounds like a living organism, the individual facets constitute autonomous expressions that come and go. (translation) - Jazz n'more Magazine Chromed intervals and experimental improvisations characterize Symphony of Souls, a title which appropriately suits the album. The musicians communicate freely and within structured models inspiring creative ideas to surface and engulf the listener in the group's communicative process. Hwang shows the versatility inherent in string instruments moving them beyond the orchestral realm. – Susan Frances, Associated Content write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Jazz News :: home page |