About
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Discography
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| Photo by Alice Plati |
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 six albums to date—most recently his first live album, The Fate of the Tenor, in March 2024.
Sun has also recorded four albums with the ensembles Mute, Earprint, and Great On Paper, and he appears on recordings led by Jacob Garchik, Dana Saul, Xiongguan Zhang, and Elijah Shiffer.
In addition to performing in the U.S., Sun has performed extensively in China and has served as the Artistic Director of the Blue Note China Jazz Orchestra. In 2021, Sun was named a Finalist for the Jerome Hill Foundation Artist Fellowship.
As of June 2024, Kevin Sun uses VENN reeds by D'Addario exclusively because they're excellent.
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| Photo by Alex Joseph |
Discography
leader
—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
—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)
—[Forthcoming Octet Album], Adam O'Farrill (TBD, recorded August 2022)
—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)
Trio: Walter Stinson, bass; Kayvon Gordon, drums
Quartet: Christian Li, piano; Walter Stinson, bass; Kayvon Gordon, drums
Quintet: Adam O'Farrill, trumpet; Dana Saul, piano; Simón Willson, bass; Dayeon Seok, drums
Mute: Christian Li, piano; Jeonglim Yang, bass; Dayeon Seok, drums
Earprint: Tree Palmedo, trumpet; Simón Willson, bass; Dor Herskovits, drums
Great On Paper: Isaac Wilson, piano; Simón Willson, bass; Robin Baytas, drums
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| Photo by Alice Plati |
Selected Press
"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]
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| Photo by Alex Joseph |