New York City Jazz Record:
In Orson Scott Card’s short story “Unaccompanied Sonata”, state officials forcefully shield a prodigy from tainting influences like J.S. Bach so his music will remain utterly original. One can imagine similar isolation for South Korean alto saxophonist Kang Tae Hwan, if only because he doesn’t sound quite like anyone else. On Live at Café Amores, recorded in 1995 in Hofu, Japan, he improvises five extended pieces replete with circular breathing and multiphonic techniques, similar to those used by more exuberant players in the free milieu, but appearing here with singular austerity. Often based on five- or six-note F minor scales, executed with a calm yet relentless airstream, each track is a deep meditation on changing timbres: gravelly burrs; overblown chords; hiccupping or galloping figures; low open tones set against high polyphonic blushes.
by Tom Greenland
All About Jazz:
South Korean reedman Kang Tae Hwan is one of the foremost exponents of solo saxophone in the Far East. While he has featured in groups, notably Ton Klami who can be heard on Prophecy Of Nue (NoBusiness, 2017), his conception is so singular that it may be best appreciated in undiluted form. Which makes Live At Cafe Amores a prime exhibit to further awareness of his extraordinary art. It's another in the Lithuanian label's ongoing series of unreleased Chap Chap label recordings licensed from Japan. His combination of multiphonics, overtones and sustained circular breathing recalls some of AACM reedman Roscoe Mitchell's solo outings, while he also sometimes suggests a more serene Evan Parker.
Kang thrills with astonishingly controlled use of overblowing to reveal the vibrating harmonics of his alto saxophone. What's all the more impressive is that it sounds completely purposeful but is achieved almost naturally without any ostentation. "Solo I" presents the perfect example of the rarefied atmosph....... more
New York City Jazz Record:
In Orson Scott Card’s short story “Unaccompanied Sonata”, state officials forcefully shield a prodigy from tainting influences like J.S. Bach so his music will remain utterly original. One can imagine similar isolation for South Korean alto saxophonist Kang Tae Hwan, if only because he doesn’t sound quite like anyone else. On Live at Café Amores, recorded in 1995 in Hofu, Japan, he improvises five extended pieces replete with circular breathing and multiphonic techniques, similar to those used by more exuberant players in the free milieu, but appearing here with singular austerity. Often based on five- or six-note F minor scales, executed with a calm yet relentless airstream, each track is a deep meditation on changing timbres: gravelly burrs; overblown chords; hiccupping or galloping figures; low open tones set against high polyphonic blushes.
by Tom Greenland
All About Jazz:
South Korean reedman Kang Tae Hwan is one of the foremost exponents of solo saxophone in the Far East. While he has featured in groups, notably Ton Klami who can be heard on Prophecy Of Nue (NoBusiness, 2017), his conception is so singular that it may be best appreciated in undiluted form. Which makes Live At Cafe Amores a prime exhibit to further awareness of his extraordinary art. It's another in the Lithuanian label's ongoing series of unreleased Chap Chap label recordings licensed from Japan. His combination of multiphonics, overtones and sustained circular breathing recalls some of AACM reedman Roscoe Mitchell's solo outings, while he also sometimes suggests a more serene Evan Parker.
Kang thrills with astonishingly controlled use of overblowing to reveal the vibrating harmonics of his alto saxophone. What's all the more impressive is that it sounds completely purposeful but is achieved almost naturally without any ostentation. "Solo I" presents the perfect example of the rarefied atmosph....... more