Best of 2025 in music

Many months have passed since I wrote my last review. Many albums have seen my desk and my CD reader, or have been transferred to my laptop. The fact is, I’ve started writing for an Italian magazine online, in my native language, but after some months the articles were not published, nor rejected. They were simply frozen on the virtual desk. Then there was the theatre laboratory, and the arts academia. And my daily job.

But since many musicians have sent to me their beautiful works, and since I have bought some other records that to me were worth listening to, now I want to give my reader a small “best of 2025”. So, I’ll start in no particular order. There won’t be a podium, and the albums will not be displayed from worst to best or vice versa. The reader is free to skim through the lines and read the reviews of the albums he had listened to or maybe he’ll want to discover the music he was not aware of.

As in the past, you will find albums coming from Italy as much as from the rest of the world, experimental records and noise rock, metal influenced by jazz and industrial music. Obviously my (non-)ranking is subjective, so don’t mind if I miss LPs or CDs you liked: it is impossible to be conscious of everything that sorts out of the music business, and every time I read magazines, on line or on paper, I see a beautiful anarchy coming out of them, more than a dreadful or mortal order. That’s life!

 

Wadada Leo Smith/Vijay Iyer “Defiant Life” (ECM)

Partially deluded as I was by last year collaboration between the A.A.C.M. trumpet player and Amina Claudine Myers (see my review here), I was really happy to hear him and Vijay Iyer in this ECM release. Space and time are suspended, but you won’t enter into another dimension as while listening to Chet Baker or Chopin’s preludes: better, you’ll enter in touch with yourself. If post-punk is the right music to deep dive into yourself from 1979 onwards, this 2025 album is beautiful and courageous in a similar way.

Leo Smith’s trumpet is interspersed with layers and layers of piano, Fender Rhodes and electronics, but the music is always essential and the compositions are created by subtraction. The dedications to Patrice Lumumba and Refaat Alareer (poet, activist and co-founder of the project ‘We Are Not Numbers’ in Gaza) say it all.

And so, even if sometimes the (abstract) ‘muezzin call’ we are accustomed to listen while hearing Wadada Leo Smith trumpet here is more elliptical than in his usual concerts or records, the meditative atmosphere can bring consciousness about the nature of activism – it doesn’t sort out of the will to affirm oneself, but from a deep connection with the inner self and with reality: this is at least what the music suggested to me.

 

Nine Inch Nails “Tron: Ares” (The Null Corporation / Walt Disney / Interscope)

It’s incredible how much Reznor’s music under the monicker Nine Inch Nails is able to speak out loud to me even when it is a partial compromise with the music business as this soundtrack for the movie starring Jared Leto is. But let’s go with order: last year Reznor himself told the press that he was imagining with difficulties a future for his major creature. But after a small amount of time he was helped by Walt Disney’s CEO who wanted the new soundtrack for the movie “Tron: Ares” to be released as a proper NIN album.

And even if Reznor is assuring in 2026 we’ll see other new NIN material, this album in the end, thanks to pieces like ‘As Alive as You Need Me to Be’, the duet with the Spanish singer Judeline ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’, the meditative ‘I Know You Can Feel It’,  and a bunch of instrumental tracks like the ecstatic ‘Echoes’ or the threatening ‘Infiltrator’ are raising high the flag of the band name. Obviously, we will be grateful to Reznor and Atticus Ross for the new  material we’ll hear this year, with great curiosity.

 

Swans “Birthing” (Young God)

The two CDs (or vinyls) set published by Gira and friends this year is possibly the most focused of these last years. More than the beautiful “The Beggar”, more than the previous “Leaving/Meaning”. From ‘I Am A Tower’, with the guitars echoing memories of Robert Fripp’s work with Eno and Bowie on ‘Heroes’, to the dramatic crescendo of ‘Red Yellow’, Swans are creating a music full of tensions that are not exploding, but that are accumulated until an abyss comes to your senses.

The perfection of tracks like ‘The Merge’, with his noisy introduction and his circular, even if a little limping, rhythms, make us forget about Gira pretending “The Beggar” to be the testament of The Swans (do you remember ‘Michael Is Done’?) and the following tour as the last of his career. It is not the first time this happens with him, but the beauty of the music makes me curious about the announced new phase of Gira’s creature as I was curious about his pupil Devendra Banhart when his first albums came to light.

 

Model/Actriz “Pirouette” (True Panther Sounds)

This is possibly the album of 2025 I have listened to the most. I have read many reviews in which the album was negatively judged because of his mixing post-punk guitars and 4/4 beats as they happen in disco or dance music, but to me this is definitely a ‘plus’. The single ‘Cinderella’ with his ‘queer’ video is what we had missed for many years – Cole Haden, M/A lead singer, as the hero we needed along with Anohni and Terre Thaemlitz as the only people able to bring some diversity to some genres created mostly by and for cisgender hetero males.

But also ‘Diva’, with his static tension, the second single from the album, has some intriguing quality – as the rest of the album – as if the music were able to bring the listener on the edge of the chasm leaving him here to dance. “I won’t leave as I came” sings Haden, and this is exactly the destiny of the listener of this album: the music and its meaning will remain glued to your conscience, and it will be a beautiful experience.

 

KnCurrent “self titled” (Deep Dish)

Jason Kao Hwang (electric violin), Cooper-Moore (diddley-bo), On Ka’a Davis (guitar) and Patrick Brennan (alto saxophone) have created one of the most adventurous LPs you will listen from what is emerging from 2025. Some years ago I crowned Hwang album “Uncharted Faith” as one of the most intriguing and avant albums of that period, and even if basically everything Hwang is involved bears traces of pure genius in music, this album is so full of textures and nuances that I couldn’t help but insert in this ‘best of 2025’.

Each track has its own peculiarities and particular sound/vision in it, and the instruments involved and the techniques they speak are so different from one  piece of music to the other, but taken as a whole the album is showing how much the old masters of improvised music are far from been merely legends of the past and can leave tracks into the present. Another album I wrote a review early this year, musically different but genuinely beautiful, is the album “Parallel Aesthetics” by Ivo Perelman and Tyshan Sorey: my advice is to enjoy it in its full length if you still miss it.

 

Robertson/Dell/Ramond/Klugel “Blue Transient” (Nemu)

Trumpeter Herb Robertson, vibraphonist Christopher Dell, bassist Christian Ramond and drummer Klaus Kugel have released in 2025 this double album full of remembrances from the Art Ensemble of Chicago (the ‘small instruments’ at the beginning) and from the Blue Note era of the great Sam Rivers and others who tried to give free jazz to the masses.

An intimate and intriguing journey through the depths of sounds and the visions of these musicians. Sometimes when I listen to them I ask myself why they’re not put on the flag by every blog/website/magazine related to experimental music. This is not nostalgia or carbon copy; this is devotion to an idea of music full of personal nuances and will to create.

 

Duck Baker “There’s No Time Like The Past” (Fulica)

Released in December of 2024, this album has entered my radar only last year so I really wanted to put lights on it since Duck Baker, a musician fond in fingerpicking, jazz, country and other U.S. contaminated music like the blues, goes well beyond my usual taste in experimental sounds. Melodic and enjoyable from the first listen, “There’s No Time Like The Past” will be for many of you like a Pandora’s box: Baker discography is full of treasures (he released at least other three albums under its own name in 2025).

Far from the deconstructions of musicians like Marc Ribot and Derek Bailey, Baker is one of the many, too many good underappreciated artisans that silently but with great love and devotion are leaving us an opus of beauty and truth. This album is a testimony of how a someone able to create a music rooted into tradition can be taken as example for other musicians or simple listeners as far as breadth of intention and clarity of vision.

 

Tropical Fuck Storm “Fairyland Codex” (Fire)

The nice and usual habit of seeking influences to describe this or that post-punk band are useless with this line-up coming from Australia. Obviously, there is the hoarse voice of Gareth Liddiard to remind me a little of David Thomas, but is a too obvious reference and Liddiard is a valid and original singer per se.

If you find difficult to think of this genre as self-renovating again after last year “Romance” by Fontaines D.C., this album will definitely change your mind. Drums, drum machines, synths, pedal steel guitars are creating for the listener a wider landscape, full of the irony and the abrasiveness that is typical of this style of music. But the creative spark is here to stay, and I think many of you will get back to this album also in 2026 …

 

Messa “The Spin” (Metal Blade)

Heavy Metal was the first genre of music to grab my attention as a teenager. Sonic violence, in-yer-face attitude and tell-it-like-it-is vibes were accompanying my angst in a way my parents were not completely approving, and this was enough to me. But many years passed since my last look at this genre in the first part of the 2000s, with bands like Neurosis and few others.

Messa are an Italian band (from the suburbs of Treviso if I remember well) who loves to mix doom metal with jazz guitar licks and harmonies. But the result is different from a pure melting pot of different styles: in a way only at an attentive listening you’ll find the single elements melting together. Because the effect is that of a perfect blend. A small miracle from my country, Messa are a band worth seeing in live concerts and spanning through its career in order to enjoy its evolution.

 

Marc Ribot “Map Of A Blue City” (New West)

A little bit disappointed as I was by Ribot’s recent outputs as a leader (Ceramic Dog were satisfying to me only partially), I enjoyed this album the was released after decades from its conception, thanks to many record companies who didn’t know how to label the music contained in it.

Ribot and his pals give life to a music that can be put aside of the beautiful folk of people like Nick Drake, but with a tinge of contemporary electric experimentations and some Latin nuances (see ‘Daddy’s Trip To Brazil’). There’s also space to put into music a poem by Allen Ginsberg (‘Sometime Jailhouse Blues’). One of the major works of Ribot to me, along with Spiritual Unity (with Ribot recreating with his guitar the music of Albert Ayler) and the famous (for the wrong reasons) ‘fake-cuban’ albums.

 

Suede “Antidepressants” (BMG)

Famous during the mid-Nineties for their almost-glam rock revival in an era in which everyone was looking for an alternative from the Oasis-Blur battle, Brett Anderson’s Suede are coming back with a concept album that is deep and full of nuances to appreciate through different listenings.

Symmetrical to last year’s The Cure comeback, and different from the poorly written (in my opinion) Lebanon Hanover’s “Asylum Lullabies”, this record, released by a major label, has new obscure nuances the old Suede were completely missing. And if the album’s cover is inspired by a famous Francis Bacon (the painter) photograph, the music is more essential and plainer than in the past.

 

So, these are the album I enjoyed this year – along with older stuff – and these are my advices after almost a year of silence with this blog. I don’t know honestly how much I will write this year 2026. But obviously I’ll keep on listening new music, and so get ready for new releases like the new album by Wadada Leo Smith and Ivo Perelman. I still need to listen to this unprecedented collaboration, but I hope it will be a good sign for all the new alternative and experimental music that will be released this year.

Ivo Perelman and Tyshawn Sorey – Parallel Aesthetics (Fundacja Sluchai, 2025)

While I’m writing this review for the last double album to be released tomorrow by the incendiary couple of tenorist Ivo Perelman and pianist/drummer Tyshawn Sorey I’m listening to the music, not wanting to put on paper a detached analysis but instead hoping to be inspired by the music itself. After all, I believe many of us have in the back of their memory that beautiful scene from Gus Van Sant’s “Finding Forrester” where Rob Brown (the actor, not the musician) and Sean Connery are typing wildly their tales of narrative onto their typewriters while the music of Ornette Coleman is clearly audible. Let’s say I just wanted to feel the same magic, at least a bit of it. 

My memory goes back to that time in which Sorey was an important part of Roscoe Mitchell’s various line-ups, and I was focused on that music, so deep and visceral but also cerebral and complex. At a certain point, I realized that what Roscoe was achieving was kind of a ‘zen’ music, where the research for a new self as an improviser was leaving place to the simple essence of being. I was curious of hearing Sorey playing with other musicians, to hear what he could realize with another dress. 

So, you can imagine how happy I was while I found out that Perelman sent to me, through my email address, the files of his new piece of art, this double album titled “Parallel Aesthetics”. I have no liner notes, no press release, only the music and the images on the cover. And that’s enough. After all, I am a person who writes about improvised music since 2010, so I’m supposed to be able to give life with words to something worth to accompany what my ears are listening to in this moment … 

But let’s start with the basic facts: the double album is composed by a couple of records, the first including four compositions for a total time of 55 minutes, while the second features only two tracks for an amount of 37 minutes. Perelman is a musician that, after attending the Berklee School of music for only one semester, moved to L.A. where, three years after, he gave life to his first album, before moving to N.Y. His musical style is somewhere between the open but oblique singing of an Ornette Coleman and the edginess of a Steve Lacy, even if he concentrated himself on tenor saxophone and has a personal, distinct voice. 

Sorey, who shared the stage with musicians as diverse but unique such as John Zorn, Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton and Wadada Leo Smith, well known for his commitment both in the field of jazz and contemporary music, can be seen, as a pianist, as the missing link between Cecil Taylor and David Tudor – even if I know how much these two extremes are hard to put together – while on drums he perfectly fits into that tradition of musicians using percussions to give life to beautiful colours more than concentrated on marking the time. 

“As Serious as Your Life” is the title of a book by journalist and photographer Valerie Wilmer dedicated to the first free jazz music scene in the 1960s, a book released for the first time this year in my country, and ‘as serious as your life’ is how I dare to indicate to the listeners to take into account music such as the one you’ll meet through this two albums. Because, even if the idea of alternating the tracks with Sorey on drums and the ones where he is featured on piano may seem a rational choice, the music you’ll listen is a perfect mix of head and heart. I don’t think it is so important this time to understand and separate the contemporary from the jazz influences on the compositions, at this point in history we’re all accustomed to such a meeting of different tinges and colors – at least since Anthony Braxton’s “Three Compositions of New Jazz” (Delmark, 1968). 

What I can report for sure is that, once again, even if In the world of improvised music, at least in the purest world of intentions such kind of music has been played more and more, indeed while listening time stops, the miracle of a dialogue between two well refined musicians is happening as it happens while listening to the best albums you have in your collection if you are lucky or educated enough. I mean, you know that magic. Rational discussions about how this music is tracing a new line or is following a path, or anything in the middle, fade away in front of such mastery and enchantment. 

But if there’s magic, for sure there is innovation. Sorey and Perelman with this albums are really giving life to an encounter between worlds and inspirations, and their ‘parallel aesthetics’, their attempt to create a dialogue between two worlds is really a new world in itself. There is intense flowing, moments of amazing exchanges, a vibrating feeling, some telluric and velvet sparks, but, most of all, I can clearly hear this sensation of listening to musicians which are telling something. 

Because, even if you’ll pass through different temperatures and feelings, the final idea is that of a music where the concentrated and the relaxed are perfectly balanced. This means there is a magic equilibrium between the mind, the intention and the output of the musicians. And since it is difficult to reach such a result, I’m writing that this is possibly the best output for this year as far as improvised music/jazz music I’ll be able to listen to in 2025. Now, I’m curious to get back to this review and this release in December, and see if it has kept its promises.

Moor Mother @ JazzMi, Milan, Triennale, Nov. 3, 2024

My followers know how much I've appreciated Moor Mother's music since I first listened to her album "Jazz Codes" (Anti-, 2022). I felt a similar intention in her work as I had encountered in Daniel Marcellus Givens' music at the start of the new millennium, and I was excited to hear someone continuing that artistic lineage. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to see Camae Ayewa (Moor Mother) perform live in Milan, having eagerly anticipated the chance. 

Accompanied by a drummer whose jazz background was evident despite the music's departure from classic jazz, Moor Mother introduced the audience to her latest album, "The Great Bailout" (Anti-, 2023), playing only three pieces from that record. The compositions were transformed by new arrangements rooted more in noise and industrial music than jazz. Yet, Moor Mother has reached a point in her career where she can reinterpret pieces like "All The Money" or "God Save The Queen" without seeming derivative, even when compared to artists like Merzbow or Throbbing Gristle. 

The live performance, consisting of just 50 minutes of drums played with sticks, electronic devices, small instruments, and Moor Mother's own vocals, was enough to captivate the audience, who showed their appreciation with warm applause at the end. The show began with small electronic sounds and electrified drumsticks, building layer upon layer into an impressive wall of sound. Moor Mother's phrases, such as "how long did it take to pay off the trauma?", echoed with sharpness and precision through the various noise textures, reflecting her time spent with Roscoe Mitchell and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, as well as other free jazz collectives like Irreversible Entanglement. 

If I had to nominate some of the best musical moments this year, I would include this Moor Mother concert, along with the new albums by Jason Kao Hwang, Fontaines D.C., and Kim Gordon. However, we still have time before looking back and tracing the lines of musical tendencies for the past year. For me, Moor Mother's live performance in Milan's Triennale was the equivalent of last year's intense and bold concert by Michael Gira's Swans. The difference is that Swans are an institution in the post-punk continuum and among the most important founders of no-wave, giving them the freedom to do as they please. In contrast, Moor Mother and her collaborators are only recognized for their artistic value after the performance, which adds an extra layer of courage to their work.

Wata Igarashi and Drew McDowall @ Auditorium San Fedele, Milan, Oct. 14, 2024

Live music offers a unique opportunity to test musical theory against practice, allowing us to experience sounds in a communal setting that, while perhaps less comfortable than our homes, enables shared emotional connections and collective enjoyment. Such was the premise of an evening at Milan's Auditorium San Fedele on Monday, October 14. 

The event began promisingly in the theater's foyer, where attendees were treated to a pre-concert listening session of Aphex Twin's seminal "Selected Ambient Works 1985-1992" (R&S, 1992). This piece, chosen by audience members through a Facebook poll, served to inaugurate the venue's new speaker system while guests enjoyed wine and conversation. 

The evening's first performer, Japanese DJ Wata Igarashi, known internationally for his live sets, unfortunately fell short of expectations. While his ambient compositions demonstrated competent use of dynamics and variations, they offered little beyond what audiences have heard since the genre's emergence in the 1970s. His most noteworthy contribution was the application of aging effects to his sounds – reminiscent of Boards of Canada's more accomplished work on "Geogaddi" (Warp, 2002) – creating a sonic equivalent of a Polaroid filter. However, the overall musical development remained predictable and lacking in innovation. 

The evening was redeemed by Drew McDowall, whose performance elevated the proceedings considerably. A veteran of influential groups like Coil and Psychic TV, McDowall presented material from his latest album "A Thread, Silvered and Trembling" (Dais Records, 2024). His setup, combining synthesizers with recorded strings, harp, and flugelhorn, created an extraordinary sonic palette that transcended conventional electronic music boundaries. 

McDowall's composition drew inspiration from Scottish funeral melodies contemporary with Carmina Burana, weaving them into a tapestry of drone music and orchestral elements. Performed in complete darkness, his set constructed an immersive soundscape of devotional, crepuscular music that was at once melancholic and powerful. Rather than merely juxtaposing elements, McDowall crafted a cohesive journey into a shadow realm of mystery and introspection, allowing listeners to explore their own inner dimensions. 

Looking ahead, the venue will host performances of Eliane Radigue's "Tryptich II" (1979) and Lorenzo Senni's "Canone Infinito Extended" from his latest Warp Records release. Reviews of these performances will follow.

Homage to Schönberg @ Camera del Lavoro, Milan, Oct. 12, 2024

In the ever-evolving landscape of music, the transition from modernity to post-modernity has been marked by groundbreaking shifts in artistic expression. As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Arnold Schönberg's birth, we're reminded of his pivotal role in shaping contemporary classical music. This past weekend, I had the privilege of attending a concert that not only honored Schönberg but also showcased the rich tapestry of 20th and 21st-century composition. 

The Italian Associazione Culturale Secondo Maggio curated an impressive program featuring Schönberg's "Kammersymphonie No. 1 Op. 9". Completed in 1906, this piece stands as a testament to the composer's transition from tonality to dodecaphony. We experienced Anton Webern's 1921-22 arrangement for five instruments, which beautifully captured the essence of Schönberg's original vision while adapting to the practical constraints of smaller ensembles. 

The concert opened with Fausto Romitelli's "Domeniche Alla Periferia Dell'Impero" (1996), a composer that boldly experiments with elements of rock and non-classical traditions. Romitelli's composition challenged our perceptions, presenting a sonic landscape that was both magmatic and deliberately unstable. 

Two pieces particularly stood out: Goffredo Petrassi's "Tre Per Sette" (1964) and Niccolò Castiglioni's "Gymel" (1960). These works showcased the virtuosity demanded by contemporary classical music and highlighted the influence of Italian flutist Severino Gazzelloni, who also played a crucial role in shaping the American New Thing movement. 

As I listened, I couldn't help but draw parallels between the complexity of this music and the intricate world we navigate today. Contemporary classical music doesn't merely mimic historical events; it serves as a form of mental training, helping us cope with the challenges of our reality. 

Conversely, composers like Anton Webern, whose "Drei Kleine Stucke op. 11" we heard, anticipated post-post-modernity. These brief, epigrammatic pieces laid the foundation for artists like Morton Feldman, offering moments of respite in our fast-paced lives. 

A special mention must go to the Dedalo Ensemble, celebrating their 25th anniversary this year. Their impeccable execution of seven challenging pieces demonstrated not only technical proficiency but also a deep understanding of the genre. The ensemble, featuring Daniela Cima, Silvano Scanziani, Stefano Merighi, Michela Dapretto, Matteo Zurletti (see photo), and Sonia Candellone, under the direction of Mauro Bonifacio, made the sometimes daunting world of contemporary classical music accessible and engaging. 

As we consider the importance of experiencing this music live, I'm excited to announce that I'll be attending two performances this Monday. Drew McDonald, formerly of Psychic TV, will present an album blending electronic and acoustic elements. Wata Igarachi, evolving from punk and techno roots, will showcase his instrumental experimental music. 

Stay tuned for my review of these upcoming performances, as we continue to explore the diverse and exciting world of contemporary music.

Varèse Huber Nieder @ Teatro Dal Verme, MITO, Milan, Sept. 18, 2024

Contemporary classical music has witnessed a significant increase in the use of percussion since the early 20th century. This trend, influenced by various cultural encounters and avant-garde composers, has reshaped the sonic landscape of classical compositions. A recent concert by the Percussion Orchestra Cologne at Milan's Teatro Dal Verme on September 18, 2024, showcased this evolution, presenting works spanning nearly a century of musical innovation. 

The integration of diverse percussion instruments in classical music can be traced back to cultural exchanges such as the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition. Here, Claude Debussy's encounter with the Javanese Gamelan profoundly influenced his compositional approach, introducing new timbres and rhythmic complexities to Western classical music. 

Concurrently, traditional instruments like the piano saw a radical reimagining of their role. Edgard Varèse's "Ionisation" (1929-1931) exemplifies this shift, employing the piano in a percussive manner with cluster notes played directly with the forearm. This groundbreaking work for 13 percussionists incorporates a vast array of instruments from various cultures, including sirens, gongs, and log drums, expanding the timbral palette available to composers. 

The Percussion Orchestra Cologne's rendition of "Ionisation" offered a contemporary interpretation of Varèse's seminal work. While slightly more "swinging" than traditional performances—perhaps a nod to Milan's reputation as the "City of Aperitif"—the execution maintained a commendable balance between elasticity and structural integrity. 

This "smart" version, while sacrificing some of the original's dramatic impact, showcased the musicians' remarkable skill in navigating the piece's complex layers. True to Varèse's concept of sounds detaching from one another like parts of an ionized atom, the performance demonstrated that "Ionisation" remains a pivotal work in the percussion repertoire, its influence evident in many subsequent compositions. 

The concert also featured two more recent works, illustrating both the enduring influence of mid-20th century innovations and attempts at further experimentation: "Herbstfestival" (1989) by Nicolaus Anton Huber played by Schlagquartett Köln for four percussionists initially evoked the explorative spirit of groups like the Art Ensemble of Chicago. However, it soon transitioned into a prolonged unison section that, while technically impressive, raised questions about its musical necessity. 

"Erdenmarsch" (2022) by Fabio Nieder, a student of Witold Lutosławski, that presented a 30-minute work for 13 percussionists. The piece incorporated a wide range of instruments and unconventional sound sources, including live-streamed radio content via iPhone. While dynamically engaging, the work's harmonic palette felt limited. Notable elements included a centrally placed large drum and theatrical interactions between musicians, though these at times seemed superfluous. 

The concert underscored the enduring impact of early 20th-century innovations in percussion music. While the performances of more recent works demonstrated technical proficiency, they also highlighted challenges in pushing the boundaries established by earlier masters. The virtuosity of the Percussion Orchestra Cologne was evident throughout, elevating even the less cohesive compositions. 

This evening of percussion-focused contemporary classical music, spanning over 80 years of compositional history, offered a compelling, if sometimes uneven, journey through the genre's evolution. It reaffirmed the pioneering spirit of early modernist composers while raising questions about the direction of contemporary classical music in the 21st century.

Jason Kao Hwang - Soliloquies (True Sound, 2024)

Born in Lake Forest, Illinois, Jason Kao Hwang's musical odyssey began with classical violin training. However, his eager exploration of jazz and improvised music long before the 1970s set the stage for a career marked by constant evolution and innovation. 

Hwang's discography is an expression to his versatility, with each album offering a unique sonic experience. My introduction to his work came through a double CD featuring the supergroup The Commitment, alongside William Parker on bass, Zen Matsuura on drums, and Will Connell Jr. on flute and alto saxophone. In this ensemble, Hwang's improvisational style echoed influences from Leroy Jenkins and Billy Bang while incorporating flavors and techniques from Asian music. 

The year 2022 saw the release of "Uncharted Faith" (Blue Coast Music), a collaboration with the late J.A. Deane. This album showcases Hwang's violin and its electronic treatments, creating a genre-defying sound reminiscent of Miles Davis's electric period from 1968 to 1975 in its innovative approach. 

The following year, "Book of Stories" (True Sound, 2023) by the Critical Response quartet presented compositions deeply rooted in the New York free jazz scene, yet imbued with a distinct personality. 

Given this diverse background, Hwang's latest solo effort, "Soliloquies," came as a delightful surprise. Tracks like "At The Beginning" and "Encirclement" reveal new facets of both the musician and the man. 

This work stems from Hwang's desire to engage more deeply with his family history, particularly conversations with his father about their experiences in China during World War II. These musical 'soliloquies' serve as an extension of moments lost to time, preserved through memory and emotion. 

Hwang's approach to the violin in "Soliloquies" is transformative, relying heavily on pizzicato techniques that reimagine the instrument's capabilities. Critics have likened his playing to a zither or a talking drum, highlighting the innovative nature of his performance. 

The music defies simple categorization, weaving together Eastern and Western influences in a tapestry of sound that requires multiple listens to be fully appreciated. It's a testament to Hwang's ability to seamlessly blend diverse cultural and musical traditions. 

"Soliloquies" stands as one of the most powerful musical and creative acts in recent years. Its deeply personal nature and unique sound recall Audrey Chen's "Runt Vigor" (Karlrecords, 2018) in its compelling individuality. This album represents a potential new direction for improvised music, challenging listeners to expand their musical horizons. 

Jason Kao Hwang, who has collaborated with luminaries such as Anthony Braxton, Billy Bang, Butch Morris, Reggie Workman, and Henry Threadgill, has undoubtedly earned his place as a maestro in his own right. While his multifaceted career may defy easy categorization, time will likely cement his status as a pivotal figure in improvised music. 

As his recent works demonstrate, Hwang continues to push boundaries and explore new territories. His career trajectory suggests exciting developments for the field of improvised music in the years to come, offering hope and inspiration for musicians and listeners alike.