Hwang: Burning Bridge

Violinist and composer Jason Kuo Hwang, who's Chinese-American, has led projects that integrate Asian elements, jazz, and other sounds. His 2012 release Burning Bridge is one such effort. A five-part original composition takes up the whole album, which features an eight-man ensemble. The group’s instrumentation includes violin, cornet, trombone, tuba, bass, and drums, as well as pipa (Chinese lute) and erhu (Chinese spike fiddle). The 22-minute opening track, “Ashes, Essence,” which has a variety of instrumental groupings, takes listeners on an intriguing journey. The instruments aren’t simply contrasted to emphasize an East-meets-West scenario; they're integrated to create an unusually rich timbral palette. (Check out, for instance, the contrast between low-end brass and the various stringed instruments.) The beginning of “Worship, Whirling,” with its freewheeling drums and hymn-like statement, evokes Albert Ayler, while one section of “Incense, in Sense” sounds like an avant-garde version of Asian court music. Burning Bridge contains multitudes.