NEW RELEASES

JON JANG & THE PAN-ASIAN ARKESTRA

“Tiananmen!”

Soul Note

* * * 1/2

Jang’s first Soul Note album was disjointed but there’s no trace of that problem on “Tiananmen!” The Bay Area pianist’s ensemble--augmented by guest James Newton (flute)--evokes a myriad of moods by deftly blending jazz and Asian music elements and instrumentation, fiery improvisation, and provocative ensemble packages and arrangements. One brief portion halfway through “Fifth Modernization” tells the story of this constantly inventive, changing music--an ensemble melody played by Asian instruments suddenly shifts gears to four hard-swinging, horn-dominated bars a la Mingus and then seamlessly slips back to the melody again.

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