About

Bio

Discography

Projects

Press

Biography

Kevin Sun is a saxophonist, improvisor, composer, and writer living in New York City.

He has released three albums as a leader—Trio (2018), The Sustain of Memory (2019), and (Un)seaworthy—and is a member of the co-led ensembles Earprint and Mute. His music has attracted attention from The New York Times, Village Voice, DownBeat, The New York City Jazz Record, Audiophile Audition, PopMatters, and Stereogum, among others.

Sun has performed in the bands of Dana Saul, Juanma Trujillo, and Xiongguan Zhang, among others, and performs frequently as a sideperson around New York. He has also performed extensively in Beijing and became the Artistic Director of the Blue Note Beijing Jazz Orchestra in August 2018, with guest artists such as Kris Davis, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and Ingrid Jensen.

Sun has written online for Music & Literature and Jazz Speaks, the official blog of The Jazz Gallery. He holds an A.B. from Harvard University and an M.M. from the New England Conservatory of Music.

Kevin Sun Jazz Sitting Saxophone Photo by Jessica Carlton-Thomas - tenor, clarinet, improvisation
Credit: Jessica Carlton

Additional photos by Jessica Carlton: (1) — (2) — (3) — (4)

Discography

leader
—(Un)seaworthy (2020, Endectomorph)
—The Sustain of Memory (2019, Endectomorph)
—Trio (2018, Endectomorph)

 coleader
—Mute (2019, Fresh Sound New Talent)
—Easy Listening (Earprint, October 2019, Endectomorph)
—Earprint (2016, Endectomorph)
—Great On Paper (2016, Endectomorph)

 sideperson
—Clear Line, Jacob Garchik (2020, Yestereve)
—The Booksellers, documentary film (2019)
—GENTL'R, John Niccoli (2019)
—Ceiling (September 2019, Endectomorph), Dana Saul
—挣扎/Struggles (2017), Xiongguan Zhang
—Don't Look Back (2016), Richard Garcia
—Swan Lake in Blue (2015), Steve Bass

Projects

Trio: Walter Stinson, bass; Matt Honor, drums
Quartet: Dana Saul, piano; Walter Stinson, bass; Matt Honor, 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

Selected Press

"Mr. Sun’s playing develops an identity of its own, equal parts direct and discursive" — 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]

"...one of the younger generation of jazz’s most innovative artists" - Monarch Magazine [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]

"...advances the [trio] concept in his excellent debut" - Village Voice [read more] 

"Making jazz safe for eggheads" - Midwest Record [read more]

“...not for the faint of heart” - Jazz Weekly [read more]

“...suspenseful and fun” - Stereogum [read more]