The subtitle of this album is ‘Unaccompanied Pizzicato Violin Improvisations’, which tells you exactly what this album is about. Recorded in two days at the beginning of 2024, here we find Hwang in a studio plucking his violin and going where the muse takes him. Apparently he has been playing in this form for more than 40 years, although it is quite different to what I have previously heard from him, and he states it was finally time to record. What I find absolutely fascinating about this release is how he has moved far away from Western jazz influences and classical and instead has produced an album as if it has come straight from China and is being played on a traditional Chinese instrument as opposed to violin.

The only addition to the sound is some reverb to enable it to fill out the space, and the result is something which is both inspired and quite addictive. The only way to listen to this is by playing it on headphones when there is nothing else to distract and then falling into his world. We are getting a masterclass in violin monologue, and by restricting himself to pizzicato with no bowing he has forced himself into a musical corner and used his mastery to produce something which is quite special. It is dramatic and powerful as he takes us on a journey which is both emotional and personal. Available on Bandcamp, this is a wonderful album to discover for those of us who enjoy music away from the mainstream. I will leave the last words to Hwang, “For the children of war survivors there are conversations with our parents we wished we had and could not. I often wonder about my parents’ vague allusions to atrocities they survived in China during World War II because their trauma was far greater than I can imagine, even now, over twenty years since their passing. In Soliloquies, I honor their courage by embracing their voices within mine, to sing into our unknowable silence encircling dreams. I am especially playing for my father, who endured multiple strokes, the last of which took his voice.”

Rating: 8/10

Links:
https://jasonkaohwang.com/