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It’s a beguiling album from beginning to end; the music is strong and unsentimental, but at the same time gentle and deeply empathetic. It’s quite magical. – Ed Hazell,Point of Departure
If it’s philosophical music, it’s far from dull music. There’s life, laughter, landscape and an affirmative lightness that is hard to resist. – Brian Morton, Jazz Journal
… the two created these fragile and delicate moments, rich in musicality and feeling … Overall it is an incision without moments of emptiness, which involves the listener from beginning to end, of two musicians in a state of grace who had something real to say to each other and made it public. – Vittori LoConte, musiczoom.it
Conjure by Karl Berger and Jason Kao Hwang stands as a masterful combination of both jazz and classical styling which makes for an incredible listening experience. – Vincent Teneriello, kuci.org
Known as two of the best current improvisers, Hwang and Berger illustrate a stunning chemistry on this unpredictable and exciting record. -takeeffectreviews.com
This other meeting, between Berger and Hwang, shows two musicians who interact without dilute their identities, celebrating free music and giving carte blanche to the deepest human emotions. – Antonio Branco, Jazz.pt
Wonderfully spontaneous unpredictable creativity…Karl’s piano/vibes and Jason’s violin/viola will summon spirits from your inner depths and take you on a journey like you’ve never been on before. – Rotcod Zzaj, Contemporary Fusion
Conjure..features eight improvised pieces that show their constantly openness to the moment… The opener, “Prophecy”, confirms that their voices make sense together. Berger launches the journey with a low-toned piano pedal, angular musings, and some caustic chordal movements. For its part, Hwang’s melodic narrative is as dramatic as it should be, and we can almost sense the tears suggested by his violin cries. – Felipe Freitas, Jazz Trails
Listening to Hwang coax amazing sounds by plucking his strings on “Vanishing Roots” or Berger’s unpredictable piano chords and vibraphone notes may be unlike anything you’ve heard from a duo. – Jim Hines, makingascene.org
Together, these two talented instrumentalists color outside the lines with an audacity and freedom that startles the senses. – Dee Dee McNeil, jazz journalist, musicalmemoris.wordpress.com
This duo typically thrives on uncertainty while exploring a variety of textural subtleties. – by Dan Bilawsky, Jazz Times
Liltingly lyrical, the duo’s compositions continue to impress, as does their impeccable musicality… Grady Harp, amazon.com
These are two practiced masters at free improvisation. I am confident that many listeners will find them as intriguing and accomplished as I do. – Michael Ullman, artsfuse.org
Subtle, beautiful, haunting, masterful and delicately commanding… summoning lyrical and sensitive music, finding profundity in restraint. Squidco.com
With the kind of simpatico that comes from a relationship of long standing, those that want to hear sounds from some corner of the cosmos will enjoy what these two can come up with all on their own. – Chris Spector, midwestrecord.com
The two artists seem perfectly at ease with each others directional inclinations and they add some unexpected twists and turns to the path that they spontaneously create, leading the music in a direction that is unpredictable to both the listener or the musicians… – Ralph A.Miriello notesonjazz.blogspot.com
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Top Ten CDs of 2019, Cadence Magazine
Blood isn't an unscripted free jazz recording but rather an uncompromising, five-act creation comprised of twenty-eight scenes. Still, however through-composed it is, the set plays like an emergent force of nature with a will of its own…Hwang draws on the liberating spirit of jazz whilst also grounding the performances in defined structures. – Ron Schepper, Textura.com
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