Kevin Sun

The quarter note plays a big role in the Mark Turner sound, I think. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but there's something intensely pointed and focused about these lines of quarter notes, and they're in full display on this burning "The Man I Love," from Warner Jams, Vol. 2: The Two Tenors (also easily identifiable on other solos from the same record, like "The Plain But The Simple Truth" ).  I remember being mesmerized as a teenager by Stan Getz's use of long, two-repeated-eighth-note melodies (the intro to "S-H-I-N-E" from West Coast Jazz  might be the most obvious example), but aside from the technical aspect of its execution, I remember being able to hear the melodic improvised line more clearly—basically because there were half as many pitches in the same amount of time as an eighth note line. Mark's quarter note lines end up having a similar effect: aside from giving him and listener a break from the dense, substitution a...

Two years ago, I wrote a short entry about vibing on this blog after hearing some stories shared at Harvard by Greg Osby and Joe Lovano about their experiences as young students of the music. Today is International Jazz Day, so I thought I'd break the radio silence on this blog by sharing an excerpt from my senior thesis, which is a collection of nonfiction essays about my experiences learning how to improvise and exploring the New York jazz scene these past few summers. This essayette is called "Vibe." Hope you enjoy. “Vibe” 1. vibe ( va ɪ b), v. a.  To make oneself averse or hostile to another person (usually through body language, tone, indirect signification) ; to give negative vibes, so as to signal disapproval: "That motherfucker was vibing me so hard after I lost the form on that last tune. Smalls sucks.” derivatives vibey (va ɪ b- ē ), adj. a. Possessing an unwelcoming or negative vibe; actively vibin...