Album: Conjure Artist: Jason Kao Hwang and Karl Berger Label: True Sound Recordings Website: https://jasonkaohwang.bandcamp.com/album/conjure Conjure , the latest CD from violinist-viola player Jason Kao Hwang and pianist-vibraphonist Karl Berger is indeed a collection of musical conjurations. Some parts are melodic but most are abstract with a cinematic scope as though they were made for big screen psychological thrillers. The twisted workings of the strings and reverberating vibraphone will sonically seem to represent the subconscious mind, tormented and nonlinear. The compositions project images in the listener's head, brandishing a series of moments of tension and intervals of irregular chord patterns. Experimental and entirely improvised, the compositions have a noir cast that is haunting and simultaneously inviting. The twisting weave and dissonance of the strings is trellised by the pitter patter of the vibraphone's notes ru...