The Experiment

"Listen to fantastic, flowing landscapes singing in a beautiful, eternal language. Acoustic or electronic, traditional or "out" - all sounds, all colors, all shapes and all textures are expressive of the human experience. You will recognize everything and nothings on this recording. This music is both a mirror and a window. This music is the tradition of jazz...Enjoy!"

New Yorker Dominic Duval is one of the finest and most prolific bassists on the contemporary scene, having played and recorded with some of the greatest names in jazz and new music. Duval’s recent tenure with pianist Cecil Taylor’s trio has cemented his reputation as one of free jazz’s important figures. The bassist has performed and recorded with such notables as saxophonists Joe McPhee, Ivo Perelman, Glen Spearman, Chris Kelsey, and Mark Whitecage, compose Pauline Oliveros trombonist Steve Swell, among many others. Duval’s solo bass CD, Night Bird Inventions, was a Top 10 pick in the Coda Magazine critics poll, and his string ensemble CD, State of the Art, was chosen one of the year’s best in the Jazziz Magazine poll.

American-born Chinese composer/violinist Jason Kao Hwang’s ensemble, The Far East Side Band (with San Won Park, Joe Daley and Satoshi Takeishi) has performed both in the US and abroad, including the Beijing International Jazz Festival. Mr. Hwang has recorded with numerous artists including Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, Butch Morris and Reggie Workman.

Dominic Duval & Jason Kao Hwang

Two highly regarded modern jazz or – new music - improvisers explore the outer reaches of their respective crafts with this new release titled, The Experiment. Dominic Duval performing on his – hutchins bass, teams with violinist Jason Kao Hwang for a truly exhilarating series of works that are justifiably referred to as “Tone Poems” on the CD insert.

Duval, a prolific - forward thinking New York City bassist and the equally adventurous violinist Hwang, render scathing dialogue on the opener, “Quest” and at times sound as though they are sawing wood with all of their steely edged lines and cyclic passages. Here, the musicians are indeed, chasing some sort of spiritual quest as Hwang’s upper register attack counters Duval’s sinuous arco-bass work and deft plucking as the duo elicits lucid imagery and performs with soulful conviction. - Pieces such as “J.K.H” and “The Tower Falls” boast circuitous flows, impressionistic soundscapes and synergistic interplay as Duval dazzles with fleet-fingered employment of harmonics and ominous sounding extended notes. The musicians convey a semi-casual atmosphere on “Caribbean Sunrise” as they tone down the proceedings mainly via articulate utilization of pitch and limber execution. Whereas Hwang and Duval perform intricate motifs yet intensify the momentum during the bridge as the two men trade rapid-fire lines and subsequently walk their instruments along the sandy beach amid the cool ocean breeze. Recommended!

Dominic Duval; hutchins bass: Jason Kao Hwang; violin

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