October 9, 2025

JASON KAO HWANG

MYTHS OF ORIGIN

True Sound Recordings

Reed at makingascene.org. (scroll down)

This album begins with a taste of drama.  First the call of a gong, then the twang of a string instrument. These broken instrumental sounds give me a taste of the orient or some ancient culture calling me to attention.  The strings enter like fluttering insects, circling above my head.  The drums punch at them.  I have become the audience of Jason Kao Hwang’s  Improvising String Orchestra and Drum Set.

In his press package, I read that this production is a musical protest against the hate crimes that plagued Asian American people and their communities during the horrific COVID-19 pandemic.  This music merges jazz, funk and world cultures to forge a unique and loud language, one that grew from the ethnicity and frustrations of Hwang witnessing hatred and frustration against a culture. His music is meant to bring people together, in relationship to each other, to be more humane and peaceful.

His music portrays both peace and frustration, using modern jazz and orchestrated chaos to make a statement. This is Avant-garde jazz blended with world music.  It’s Modern jazz on steroids, characterized by these complex rhythms and Hwang’s blend of traditional and contemporary influences.

Jason Hwang blends a wide range of jazz styles that embrace his Asian heritage, using gongs and musical orchestration, heavily influenced by European classical music, interlocked with the need to explore his feelings and the freedom that is found in jazz.

This is a project of both beauty and beast.  It portrays the two sides of every coin, using fifteen sections of music, much of it played spontaneously.  Hwang’s compositions allow the musicians to infuse their own individuality into his spontaneous musical movements.  The result is this “Myths of Origin” project, that takes symphonic sounds and composition to another level.

THE JASON KAO HAWANG STRING ORCHESTRA AND DRUM SET: Jason Kao Hwang, composer/conductor. Ken Filiano, bass; Andrew Drury, drums; GUITARS: Che Chen, Anders Nilsson, Hans Tammen. VIOLINS: Charles Burnham, Mark Chung, Gabby Fluke-Mogul, Keir GoGwilt, Rosi Hertlein, Gwen Laster, Elena Moon Park, Ben Sutin, Tom Swafford, Johnna Wu. VIOLAS: Ginger Dolden, Melanie Dyer, Judith Insell, Pete Lanctot, Eric Salazar. CELLOS: Dara Bloom, Kirin McElwain, Lester St. Louis, Tomas Ulrich.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil