Concert violinist Iggy Jang holds court

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer

It's uncertain if Iggy Jang will pick up any hoops games this week, but he certainly is scheduled to put his talented hands to work this weekend for a couple of guest performances with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. Iggy Jang With guest conductor Grant Llewellen 4 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday Blaisdell Concert Hall $15-$55 792-2000

"I like playing basketball ... but I don't want to hurt myself," said Honolulu Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Ignace "Iggy" Jang, discussing his extracurricular hoop dreams. "I don't mind a sprained ankle, but I have to be careful with my hands."

Keeping his precious digits away from the courts will be particularly important this weekend as Jang takes center stage for a couple of performances with the orchestra and guest conductor Grant Llewellen. Still, I imagined that if Jang were able to scrape together a bunch of his symphony buddies for another one of their occasional pick-up games before this Sunday, he'd be on the courts, like, right now.

"Sometimes, I just play close to where I live — Alapai Park or Stevenson (Intermediate) School," Jang said. "Usually, I end up playing with a bunch of high school kids who probably don't realize that I'm much older than them." Pause. "Which is a good thing, I think."

Asked to ante up the state of his b-ball prowess at age 32, Jang assured that he could still run up and down the asphalt with the best and youngest of 'em, albeit with a few limitations.

"In the last couple of years, I've realized that I haven't been able to defend as quickly as I used to," he sighed. "The younger kids are starting to get faster."

Feeling a bit aged myself, I segue our chat into a discussion of Jang's varied musical tastes, evidenced by a car CD player spinning Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," the Shostakovich "Violin Concerto in A Minor" he'll be playing this weekend, a homemade mix of the best of hip-hop artist Guru's "Jazzmatazz" series, a disc of tangos from Astor Piazzolla, and a Marvin Gaye compilation.

"I like Marvin Gaye and Motown," said Jang, his whisper of a voice noticeably perking up. "My favorite songs are 'What's Goin' On?' and 'Mercy Mercy Me.' "

And just because I've always wanted to know ... who CAN call you Iggy?

"Well, pretty much anyone can call me Iggy."