photo © R.I. Sutherland-Cohen
JASON KAO HWANG’S
HUMAN RITES TRIO
Jason Kao Hwang violin, viola, compositions
Ken Filiano bass
Andrew Drury drum set
With origins reaching back to the Asian Arts Movement and New York Loft scenes of the 1970s, and work in ensuing decades in Jazz, opera, film, and with artists such as Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, Butch Morris, Wadada Leo Smith, Pauline Oliveros, Reggie Workman, Tomeka Reid, and many more, Jason Kao Hwang manifests a uniquely multi-faceted legacy in American music in this rare trip to Seattle. Playing together in various formations for over 20 years, Jason Kao Hwang’s Human Rites Trio moves through both freely improvised and intricately composed sonic landscapes with expansive imagination and esp-like communication.
…this is heavy, profound music. - Philip Freeman, Downbeat Magazine
Jason Kao Hwang is a composer, violinist, and violist whose music draws on his Chinese American heritage and lifelong exploration of sound, language, and improvisation. His recent releases include Soliloquies, Book of Stories, and The Human Rites Trio. A five-time winner of the El Intruso International Critics Poll for Violin/Viola, he was also named a Rising Star by the DownBeat Critics Poll. His chamber opera The Floating Box, A Story in Chinatown was selected as one of Opera News’ Top Ten Opera Recordings of 2005. Hwang has collaborated with artists including Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, Pauline Oliveros, William Parker, and Tomeka Reid.
Andrew Drury is a drummer, composer, improviser, educator, and arts organizer originally from Seattle. He has performed with Jason Kao Hwang and Ken Filiano for more than 20 years, while also leading his own ensembles and co-founding the percussion collective The Forest. A longtime mentee of Ed Blackwell, Drury has performed and recorded with artists including Myra Melford, Wadada Leo Smith, Kris Davis, Ingrid Laubrock, and John Tchicai. All About Jazz has called him “one of the most adventurous drummer/percussionists in creative music today.”
Ken Filiano is a bassist, composer, improviser, and educator known for combining deep bass traditions with a highly personal creative voice. Described by JazzValley as a “creative virtuoso,” he has performed and recorded with artists ranging from Anthony Braxton to Pablo Ziegler. Filiano leads the quartets Quantum Entanglements and Baudolino’s Dilemma, and collaborates regularly with Jason Kao Hwang, Fay Victor, and Taylor Ho Bynum. His recordings include the solo album Subvenire and Quantum Entanglements’ Dreams From a Clown Car.