What does Asian America sound like? I pose this question knowing there is no definitive answer, let alone a correct one. For seasoned listeners it may be tempting to imagine a specific (or essential) Asian American musical characteristic emanating from the album at hand, but I’d like to push against this impulse for a moment.
Legends and Legacies III is the latest installment into the series in which Francis Wong firmly established himself as a composer, and bandleader, alongside his contemporaries. The record revisits the sonorous fusion of traditional East Asian instruments with jazz and blues idioms from the African diaspora that has become an enduring mode of creative musical expression typifying the Asian American Jazz ethos for decades now. Yet, the landscape of Asian America has evolved considerably since the release of the first Legends and Legacies, and so have the issues that affect one’s ability to resonate with the music’s compositional and programmatic directions that speak to matters of community, history, and identity.
It is why Wong’s musical self-reflection serves as a meaningful vehicle to consider the possibilities for contemporary sociopolitical consciousness, forming an audible space that foregrounds cross-racial solidarity and grassroots organizing during a time when the anxieties and materiality of violence can dominate current discourses. Today’s social movements and rallying cries, like Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate, are intrinsic to the broad strokes of this work, tethered to the Japanese Redress and civil rights movements that came before it. But without being a prescriptive expression of any political sentiment, Wong offers a new prism in which to listen for the possibilities of Asian American formations beyond tropes of “past meets present” or “East meets West,” inviting us to heartraditional music’s ability to enliven the current moment.
Central to Legends III are personal stories and lineages that recall inflection points of Asian American identity formation set against the backdrop of 20th century global histories:Geopolitical shifts across Asia in the wake of World War II, and the policies of subjugation in the United States aimed at those of Chinese and Japanese descent are recurring storytelling motifs that center migrant voices that are often lost in the retelling of grand narratives.
To that end, the long-form and methodical compositions that make up the bulk of the album emerge as a lush rendering of Asian American expressivity and potentiality. Tatsu Aoki’s shamisen groove at the midpoint of “Miyoshi Sketches” anchors the richly fleshed-out orchestration that provides the foundation for Yanqin Zhao’s sweeping yanqin; William Roper’s tuba solo that follows is a playful counterpoint to the dilatant rhythm. “Shanghai Stories” marches along to a nostalgic beat, swelling into a full-band density that feels on the edge of explosion by its end. That most of the musicians who appear on the album (whose individual contributions I am, unfortunately, unable to fully capture within these liner notes) are longtime collaborators speaks to the twinned investments in both artistic and community organizing that remains at the forefront of Wong’s practice; people coming together for a common cause.
What then can be said about the sound of Asian America? Thenature of this question opens a dizzying number of potential answers — to the extent that any response may seem subjective to the point of being inconsequential. Like its predecessors, the timing of Legends and Legacies III thus feels appropriate. As questions regarding Asian American identity continue toanimate our lives, Asian American music becomes one way to negotiate seemingly disparate backgrounds and perspectives, to make tangible a sense of unity if only for a moment. Francis Wong (or anyone else, for that matter) may not possess a definite answer to what Asian America sounds like, but contained within the sonic landscape of this new musical offering is a snapshot into what Asian America can sound like if one is willing to listen deeply.
–Noah Rosen
September 2024
