About
Kevin Sun is a saxophonist and composer living in New York City. His music has been called “...intense, harmonically virtuosic and compositionally complex" by DownBeat Magazine, and he has released seven albums to date—most recently Quartets, in October 2024.
Sun has also recorded five albums with the ensembles Mute, Earprint, and Great On Paper, and he appears on recordings led by Adam O'Farrill, Jacob Garchik, Dana Saul, Xiongguan Zhang, and Elijah Shiffer. He is the founder of Endectomorph Music, a Brooklyn-based label dedicated to creative improvise music that has released over 30 albums since 2015.
Sun has also recorded five albums with the ensembles Mute, Earprint, and Great On Paper, and he appears on recordings led by Adam O'Farrill, Jacob Garchik, Dana Saul, Xiongguan Zhang, and Elijah Shiffer. He is the founder of Endectomorph Music, a Brooklyn-based label dedicated to creative improvise music that has released over 30 albums since 2015.
In addition to performing in the U.S., Sun has performed extensively in China and was the Artistic Director of the Blue Note China Jazz Orchestra from 2018 to 2020. In 2021, Sun was named a Finalist for the Jerome Hill Foundation Artist Fellowship. He has been in residence at Lowlands Bar in Gowanus, Brooklyn since September 2021 and continues to perform there regularly.
As of June 2024, Kevin Sun uses VENN reeds by D'Addario exclusively because they're excellent.
As of June 2024, Kevin Sun uses VENN reeds by D'Addario exclusively because they're excellent.
Discography
leader
—lofi at lowlands 一 (2025, Endectomorph)
—Quartets (2024, Endectomorph)
—The Depths of Memory (2023, Endectomorph)
—<3 Bird (2021, Endectomorph)
coleader
—After You've Gone (Mute, 2024, Endectomorph)
—Mute (2019, Fresh Sound New Talent)
—Easy Listening (Earprint, 2019, Endectomorph)
—Earprint (2016, Endectomorph)
—Great On Paper (2016, Endectomorph)
sideperson
—City of Birds, Volume 2, Elijah Shiffer (2025, Star Jelly)
—For These Streets, Adam O'Farrill (2025, Out of Your Head)
—Dada Bebop, Elijah Shiffer (2024, Star Jelly)
—Howl, Juanma Trujillo (2024, Endectomorph)
—Fast Forward to the Present Day, Xiongguan Zhang (Saida Music, 2023)
—City of Birds, Volume 1, Elijah Shiffer (2023, Star Jelly)
—Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered, Lara Downes (2022, Rising Sun Music)
—Live at Scholes Street, Jeff Krol (2022)
—Family Plan, Family Plan (2021, Endectomorph)
—Lagniappe Session: All Chico Hamilton Set, Uncivilized (2021, Aquarium Drunkard)
—Clear Line, Jacob Garchik (2020, Yestereve)
—The Booksellers, documentary film (2019)
—Full Metal Spice Packet, The Spice Cabinet (2019)
—GENTL'R, John Niccoli (2019)
by Noah Philipose (2024)
by Noah Philipose (2024)
by Noah Philipose (2024)
by Ann Leadbetter (2023)
by Grace Ann Leadbetter (2023)
by Grace Ann Leadbetter (2023)
by Alice Plati (2022)
by Alex Joseph (2022)
by Alice Plati (2022)
by Alex Joseph (2022)
by Alice Plati (2022)
by Alex Joseph (2022)
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| by Noah Philipose (2024) |
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| by Noah Philipose (2024) |
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| by Noah Philipose (2024) |
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| by Ann Leadbetter (2023) |
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| by Grace Ann Leadbetter (2023) |
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| by Grace Ann Leadbetter (2023) |
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| by Alice Plati (2022) |
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| by Alex Joseph (2022) |
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| by Alice Plati (2022) |
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| by Alex Joseph (2022) |
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| by Alice Plati (2022) |
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| by Alex Joseph (2022) |
Selected Press
On Kevin Sun - by Dylan Hicks for NR MINT (April 2025)
Kevin Sun: Finding Art & Endectomorph - DownBeat Indie Life feature (October 2024)
"The saxophonist Kevin Sun has been making his mark on the New York scene of late by way of studiousness and subtlety ... Sun has something original going on, too: his own feeling of loose coil and terse freedom, and a personal approach to disrupting time." — The New York Times [read more]
"...a player who sees the big picture and his evolving place within it" - The New York City Jazz Record [read more]
"...intense, harmonically virtuosic and compositionally complex" - DownBeat Magazine, ★★★★ 1/2 [read more]
"...Sun swings for the fences with his sense of form and scale" - WBGO [read more]
"...Sun has a warmth, richness and rhythmic vitality to his playing that at times brings Lester Young or Sonny Rollins to mind" - All About Jazz, ★★★★☆ [read more]
"...a musician who is creating serious buzz in the jazz community" - Winnipeg Free Press [read more]
“...combines a smooth mastery of his horn with an adventurous taste in composition” - The Vinyl District, A [read more]
“Trio proves him a high flyer whose presence is voluminous and a gifted saxophonist” - Jazz Trail, A- [read more]
“Kevin Sun’s debut album Trio is a rich and endeavoring project” - Audiophile Audition, ★★★★☆ [read more]
"Making jazz safe for eggheads" - Midwest Record [read more]
Projects
Present
Quartet (2024– ): Anthony Pearlman, piano; Jayla Chee, bass; Eliza Salem, drums
Trio (2022– ): Walter Stinson, bass; Kayvon Gordon, drums
Mute (2017– ): Christian Li, piano; Jeonglim Yang, bass; Dayeon Seok, drums
Yellowface (2022– ): Christian Li, keyboard + synths + electronics
Past
Quartet (2023–2024): Max Light, guitar; Walter Stinson, bass; Jon Starks, drums
Quartet (2022): Christian Li, piano; Walter Stinson, bass; Kayvon Gordon, drums
Quintet (2018, 2021): Adam O'Farrill, trumpet; Dana Saul, piano; Simón Willson, bass; Dayeon Seok, drumsTrio (2016–2022): Walter Stinson, bass; Kayvon Gordon, drums
Earprint (2014–2022): Tree Palmedo, trumpet; Simón Willson, bass; Dor Herskovits, drums
Great On Paper (2014–2019): Isaac Wilson, piano; Simón Willson, bass; Robin Baytas, drums
Bio (extended)
Kevin Sun is a Chinese-American saxophonist and composer living in New York City. His music has been called “...intense, harmonically virtuosic and compositionally complex" by DownBeat Magazine, and he has released seven albums to date—most recently his new double album, Quartets, in October 2024. He is the founder of Endectomorph Music, a Brooklyn-based label dedicated to creative improvise music that has released over 30 albums since 2015. His previous albums have been released to critical acclaim, including his 2021 tribute to Charlie Parker, <3 Bird, which landed on year-end best-of lists in the Boston Globe, PostGenre, and more.
Sun has also recorded five albums with the ensembles Mute, Earprint, and Great On Paper, and he appears on recordings led by Adam O'Farrill, Jacob Garchik, Dana Saul, Xiongguan Zhang, and Elijah Shiffer. As a sideperson, he has performed with Adam O’Farrill, Frank Carlberg’s Dream Machine, Dan Weiss, John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, Yuhan Su, Peter Watrous, and Noah Haidu, among others. Locally, he has performed at venues such as The Jazz Gallery, Joe’s Pub, Smalls Jazz Club, Ornithology Jazz Club, Bar Bayeux, Cornelia Street Café, 55 Bar, Close Up, and the Django.
In addition to performing in the U.S., Sun has performed extensively in China and served as the Artistic Director of the Blue Note China Jazz Orchestra from 2018 until 2020, leading performances of the BNCJO at the Blue Note Beijing with guest artists such as Rudresh Mahanthappa, Kris Davis, and Ingrid Jensen. He has been in residence at Lowlands Bar, where he performed weekly from September 2021 through July 2024, and he continues to perform there monthly as of September 2024. In 2021, Sun was named a Finalist for the Jerome Hill Foundation Artist Fellowship. He plays VENN reeds by D’Addario exclusively and has been a D’Addario Artist since June 2024.
Sun has written liner notes for album releases on ECM, Sunnyside, Cellar Live, Biophilia, and Fresh Sound New Talent, among others. He previously conducted interviews for Jazz Speaks, the official blog of The Jazz Gallery, where he served as blog editor-in-chief from July 2013 to December 2014. Sun holds an M.M. in Jazz Performance from The New England Conservatory of Music and an A.B. in English from Harvard College, where he graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the Thomas T. Hoopes Prize for outstanding senior thesis work. He is the first-ever jazz saxophone performance major to graduate from the five-year Harvard-NEC Dual Degree program, and and he has worked in the Harvard University Music Department as a Teaching Assistant to Professor Vijay Iyer. He studied primarily with Miguel Zenón while at Harvard-NEC, in addition to taking lessons with Billy Hart, Cecil McBee, John McNeil, Donny McCaslin, and Jerry Bergonzi, among others.