| VOICE REVIEWS (click links for full reviews)
The performing challenges are immense, not only in the
extreme virtuosity of the music, but also in having to move from the
jagged to the lyrical in the blink of an eye. Jason Kao Hwang yields
nothing to previous performers of repertoire such as this in penetrating
the depth and breadth of emotion that the poetry conveys, and it helps
that this is a fabulous recording, allowing the wide range of tone,
colour and dynamics to be heard to full effect. Raul da Gama, World Music Report, April 30, 2016
Deanna Relyea sings a bit with an operatic voice, she
whispers, then she plays with the spoken-word technique, and
accompanying musicians are experimenting with improvisations to the
extreme then continuing with lucidity in "Vertigo" with twisted sounds
of trumpet, and all sorts of piercing and screeching, introducing a
concrete jazz only in the third, "Someone" with the cabaret atmosphere
of blues. And every so often walking away and like tracing an abstract
painting from pillar to post, not holding onto any strict principles of
jazz, but indeed, this is jazz… the idiosyncratic baritone Thomas
Buckner, whose wonderfully mad vocalizing is in turn grotesque,
manifesto-like, poetic and subtle spoken-word enunciation that comes
from the experience of his over four decade career… Very
inspired work for demanding listeners with skillful developments shows
how each process of blending pure poetry can be configured in a truly
imaginative analog implementation. Horvie, terapijanet.com, Evaluation: 9/10 (Croatian translation)
This album is a landmark in vibrant, truly synthetic
conjunctions of words and musical expressions, of the state-of-the-art
in the avant today, with the world, history and time conjoined in two
unified suites of great power and merit. It is a blockbuster and a
tribute to the imaginative thrust of Jason Kao Hwang and his
collaborative associates. - Grego Applegate Edwards, gapplegatemusicreview, Jan. 27. 2016
Relyea shows her wide range of expression in particular
on “Days of Awe” (by Patricia Jones) with a steady mix of spoken and
sung lines in various emotional tones. Michalowski’s sopranino sax is
also very apt on this piece. The two poems by Lester Afflick have their
textual rhythms accentuated by Filiano’s sturdy bass lines and Drury’s
sharp drum licks. “I Raise Myself” has a beautiful intro on bass and
“Someone” has some great growl cornet from Bynum and soulful violin from
Hwang. But as I have already indicated, my strongest impression from
this record date is how well it works as a whole. Lars Bjorn, SEMJA
VOICE, Hwang's recent release on Innova (and reviewed
here), offers a striking example of his audacious artistic sensibility,
and it was this striking fusion of poetry and improvised instrumental
accompaniment that prompted me to contact Hwang for the following
exchange. - Ron Schepper, Textura.com Interview, February, 2016
As a project, VOICE constitutes a refreshingly bold move
on Hwang's part. It would have been easy for him to have recorded a
handful of instrumentals with the musicians involved, and such a project
might have been an easier sell, too. But in taking on a voice-based
project, he's accomplished something impressive, not to mention
something more memorable for being so rarely attempted. - Ron Schepper, Textura.com, Feb., 2016
It is a music full of emotions, which transcend those
that are the traditional techniques, what matters here is improvisation,
the inspiration of the moment, exercised collectively. The two songs
are developed otherwise, for the diversity of formations and equipment,
but the spirit that animates them is the same. The poems are contained
in the booklet, so that you can read them in their strength, as well as
listen. There is so much energy and passion to spread the album with
solos of all participants, including important names of the vanguard, a
Joe McPhee is rewriting with all others.And also celebrated poets of
course, the late Lester Afflick , an integral part of this project,
whose texts collected in the posthumous I Dream About You Baby are here
declaimed. It requires careful listening to these sounds unusual, the
energy that emerges from the strings of the leader and his sidemen is
something unusual but fascinating. - Vittorio Lo Conte, Music Zoom (Italian translation)
Two sequences of poems by a variety of poets, with music
composed by violinist Hwang with some room for improvisation, each set
with a different ensemble. “Lifelines” has mezzo Deanna Reyea, new to
me, a fascinating voice and delivery, sort of improvised, sort of
sprechstimme. - Steven Koenig, Acoustic Levitation, Best of 2015
The brilliant violinist, virtuoso violinist and composer
Jason Kao Hwang occupies a privileged place at the forefront of jazz
and creative music of our time...Voice launch will take place in January
2016 and its edition will be in charge of Innova Recordings label. - Sergio Piccirilli, El Intruso (Spanish translation)
To purchase the CD VOICE: Store
To purchase VOICE download: Download
ARTISTS
Music: Jason Kao Hwang
Poetry: Lester Afflick, Fay Chiang, Steve Dalachinsky, Patricia Spears Jones, Yuko Otomo, and Davida Singer
Musicians: Tom Buckner, Deanna Relyea – voice, Joe McPhee - tenor sax/pocket trumpet, William Parker, Ken Filiano - bass, Piotr Michalowski – sopranino saxophone/ bass clarinet, Taylor Ho Bynum – cornet/ flugelhorn, Andrew Drury – drum set, Sang Won Park - kayagum, Jason Kao Hwang – violin/viola |
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