Jason Kao Hwang Critical Response
Book Of Stories
True Sound
2023

by Jerome Wilson, All About Jazz.   Read at All About Jazz

Violinist Jason Kao Hwang goes into power trio formation here alongside guitarist Anders Nilsson and drummer Michael T.A. Thompson. The resulting music is intense but also makes good use of tempo and volume dynamics. "The Power of Many in the Soul of One" has periods of quiet rumblings amidst aggressive guitar and violin slashing that invariably suggests the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Meanwhile "Dragon Carved Into Bone" is a maddened clash of distorted violin and spitting guitar sounds bouncing against each other as Thompson does a superb job of adjusting to his partners' gestures and keeping a consistent rhythm going. "A Silent Ghost Follows" is a striking bit of quiet amidst this turmoil with cymbal washes, stretched-out guitar sounds, and slow violin bowing all creating a resonant moment of spectral calm.