MUSICIANS:

Jason Kao Hwang – composer / violin, Andrew Drury – drum set, gongs, aluminum pots, stainless steel bowls, Tibetan prayer bowl, bells, seed pods, oyster & mussel shells, wood block, cowbell, bronze gear, sink faucet escutcheon, Ken Filiano – string bass

On their second CD, violinist Jason Kao Hwang, bassist Ken Filiano, and drummer-percussionist Andrew Drury perform four extended Hwang compositions. The program is colorful and consistently engaging: alongside violin and bass—Filiano occasionally contributes bowed solos—Drury plays drums and a wide range of percussion, including gongs, aluminum pots, stainless steel bowls, a Tibetan prayer bowl, bells, shells, and a sink faucet escutcheon.

The Human Rites Trio’s music blurs the line between composition and improvisation: arranged passages can feel spontaneous, while the group’s intuitive improvisations often sound carefully composed. The three musicians’ familiarity is clear in their close, responsive interplay and frequent sense of shared thought.

Each of the four originals moves through shifting moods and tempos. At times the music swings with distinctive, catchy rhythms; elsewhere, Hwang’s expressive lead turns somber, or the trio improvises with collective intensity. Across Second Life, the three virtuosos create stimulating, thought-provoking dreamscapes that draw out the best in one another.

Second Life captures the Human Rites Trio’s three masterful musicians inspiring and challenging one another to memorable effect.