Title - Quartets [2CD]
Artist - Kevin Sun
For those unaware, since moving to New York City nearly a decade ago, saxophonist Kevin Sun has spared no time pursuing his vision for modern jazz and improvised music.
Following his 2018 debut, Trio, he recorded and released five more albums in as many years while performing extensively on the Brooklyn jazz and creative music scene.
Quartets, his latest outing for his Endectomorph Music label, surveys a wide range of music from his early composing days to latter day inspirations ranging from video game music and electronic pop to mid-century auteur cinema.
Side one features Sun’s “secret” quartet, which includes longtime collaborators Dana Saul (piano), Walter Stinson (bass), and Matt Honor (drums), who feature prominently throughout Sun’s discography in various configurations, but have only been featured together on record once before (side one, “The Middle of Tensions,” from 2019’s The Sustain of Memory).
During the pandemic, Sun continued to compose and workshop music with this core quartet, which had been preparing to debut a new book of music in March 2020 before being interrupted. With the beginning of his weekly residency at Lowlands Bar in Brooklyn in September 2021, Sun finally began performing this music regularly with the group.
In 2023, Sun decided to form a new band after feeling that he’d hit a wall musically. “I’d been playing my own music every week at Lowlands for almost two years and felt like I was stuck in a rut,” says Sun, “I thought it was time to change up the band and try to involve some other musical perspectives who could push me in other directions.”
His new quartet, with Christian Li on piano, Stinson on bass, and Kayvon Gordon on drums, explores a complementary side of Sun’s musicianship, favoring a more tuneful and casual player’s approach compared to the more composerly orientation of his previous quartet.
That sound is heard to great effect across side two, which includes more so-called modern jazz tunes like Rudderless Blues and tbh, as well as more covers, including a danceable, light version of On the Street Where You Live from My Fair Lady, the Bruno Martino hit Estate, and a surprising 12/8 rendition of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Yellow Magic (Tong Poo), forever associated with the pioneering ’80s Japanese synth pop band Yellow Magic Orchestra.
CD 1:
1.
Dance Notation
2.
Far East Western (Prelude)
3.
Far East Western
4.
Shadows Over the Sea
5.
Melpomene
6.
And the Oscar Goes To
7.
Storied History
8.
Title Theme (from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
With the music of side one reflecting Sun’s persistent curiosity with orchestration and compositional possibilities using the time-honored jazz quartet configuration: horn, chordal instrument, bass, and drums, the first side opens on the staggered Dance Notation, the luxuriant Far East Western (Prelude), the flourishing Far East Western, and then we get brought forth the smoothly stoic stillness of Shadows Over the Sea, the rhythmically toned Melpomene, the confidently precarious And the Oscar Goes To, and then we get the soulfully joy that emanates throughout Storied History, the first CD rounding out on the dulcet tones of Title Theme (from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time).
CD 2:
9.
Heideggerdashian
10.
Homage Kondo
11.
On the Street Where You Live
12.
Rudderless Blues (or, Obscure Motions)
13.
That Lights a Star
14.
Outlawry
15.
tbh
16.
Pixelate
17.
Yellow Magic (Tong Poo)
18.
Estate
19.
Kierkegaardashian
Slipping the second CD in and along next is the spirited Heideggerdashian, the elegance of Homage Kondo and the low slung toe snapper On the Street Where You Live, and they are themselves backed seamlessly by the organically sculpted Rudderless Blues (or, Obscure Motions), the engaging That Lights a Star, and the shimmering Outlawry, the all-embracing rhythms that help drive tbh following neatly along with the jaunty Pixelate, the album closing on the studious Yellow Magic (Tong Poo), the languishing beauty within Estate, closing on the playfully flirtatious Kierkegaardashian.
With QUARTETS, Sun offers an elegant summation of his musical interests to date, presenting thoughtful original compositions alongside inventive covers of personal favorites.
Official Purchase Link
Official Website
Kevin Sun @ Facebook