Jason Kao Hwang (composer,violin,vioa)
Sang Won Park (kayagum, ajang, voice)

Jason Kao Hwang (violin, composer) and Sang Won Park (kayagum, ajeng, voice) have collaborated over the past sixteen years, first with The Far East Side Band in the 90’s, and now, as a duo, Local Lingo. The compositions of Jason Kao Hwang inspire cross-cultural improvisations with Sang Won Park, creating an American music that is their Local Lingo. Local Lingo performed at Vision Festival XII, which was reviewed by Bruce Gallanter (Downtown Music Gallery): Both of these men are great soloists and love to push themselves into unexpected situations... This duo blended ancient (sounding) songs with more modern improvisations and created something quite different. Local Lingo reached #36 on the CMJ college radio charts and in Jazz Week’s world music’s top 60.

Biographies:

Jason Kao Hwang  (composer, violin, viola) has created works ranging from jazz, classical, “new” and world music. Mr. Hwang leads the quartet EDGE, the octet Burning Bridge (commissioned by Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works), and also Spontaneous River, an orchestra of string improvisers.  As violinist, he has worked with many artists, including Reggie Workman, William Parker, Anthony Braxton, Butch Morris and Henry Threadgill. As composer he has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation and others. His chamber opera, The Floating Box, A Story in Chinatown (New World Records), was named one of the top ten opera recordings of 2005 by Opera News. (jasonkaohwang.com)

Sang Won Park (kayagum, ajang, voice) was a founding member of the Far East Side Band with composer/violinist Jason Kao Hwang, recording two acclaimed CDs, Caverns(New World Records) and Urban Archaeology(Victo Records). Mr. Park made his western debut at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1979, followed by a tour of both the U.S. and Europe. Les Amis De L'Orient and Sono Disc in Paris have produced an album entitled Le Kayagum de Park Sang Won. He has recorded with Henry Kaiser and Charles K. Noyes(OAO/Celluloid) and Laurie Anderson(Warner Brothers). He was featured in Rhythm of the World, a documentary produced for BBC-TV and Improvisation, a documentary written by Derek Bailey and produced by Channel 4 of U.K.. His life and music has been documented in Old Tradition and New Sound, a program narrated by Judy Collins for National Public Radio. He has also appeared in Nam Jun Paik's acclaimed satellite spectacular Bye Bye Kipling on PBS. Mr. Park, a native of Seoul, earned his B.A. and M.A. in musicology at Seoul National University. He was a member of the Traditional Music Orchestra of Seoul and a researcher at the Academy of Korean Studies. (www.sangwonpark.com)