I listen to many types of music which could be said to be challenging, and at the very edges of what would normally be defined as music, but even I must confess that this album is incredibly hard work. Led by violinist Jason Kao Hwang, his octet Burning Bridge work through what is a single continuous piece of music some 48 minutes long, which has been broken into five “songs”. No guitar or piano, but rather a band who utilise standard jazz fare of drums, bass, cornet and trombone as well as violin and tuba and combining these with Chinese instruments pipa (a Chinese lute) and erhu (two-stringed vertical fiddle).

It combines large improvisational elements with composed segments and is designed to allow the listener to imagine the emotional traumas of war. Everyone leads the music at different times, and it is not unusual for there only to be a few playing in some sections and the full band at others. But even though it is undoubtedly very clever, for me I can’t imagine ever playing this for pleasure. It is bleak in its outlook, but that is something that has never concerned me when it comes to music, it is more the feeling that at times the musicians really are just making a noise as opposed to following any normal musical conventions. That is probably the intent, and it is just that my mind doesn’t follow the nuances and styles on offer, so while it is well-recorded and produced with excellent sound, I doubt I will ever play this out of choice again.

Rating: 5/10

Links:
https://jasonkaohwang.com/