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| April 21-30: Saxophonist Kevin Sun's quartet celebrates album with 9-city national tour Acclaimed saxophonist/composer Kevin Sun celebrates his recent double album Quartets (Endectomorph Music), with a nine-city national tour April 21 – 30. Concerts feature Sun's new quartet with pianist Christian Li, bassist Walter Stinson, and drummer Kayvon Gordon unless otherwise indicated. Since moving to New York City nearly a decade ago, 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, out via 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. The double album features two different bands. The first side features longtime collaborators Dana Saul (piano), Walter Stinson (bass), and Matt Honor (drums), while the second showcases the players on this tour. Performances take place: ∙ Monday, April 21 at Sonoma State Univ., Green Music Center, Room 1029, 1801 Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park, CA. Jazz Forum Class. Free admission.1 p.m. Information at music.sonoma.edu. ∙ Monday, April 21 at Big Easy, 128 American Alley, Petaluma, CA. Suggested donation $10-$20. 7 and 8:30 p.m. Information at bigeasypetaluma.com. ∙ Tuesday, April 22 at Monks Jazz Club, 501 Pedernales St., Building #2E, Austin, TX. 8 p.m. Tickets $20. Information at monksjazz.com. ∙ Wednesday, April 23 at Royal Room, 5000 Rainier Avenue South, Seattle, WA. Information at theroyalroomseattle.com. ∙ Thursday, April 24 at Sam First, 6171 W Century Boulevard #180, Los Angeles, CA. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets $25-$30, livestream $15. Information at samfirstbar.com. ∙ Friday, April 25 at Berlin, 204 N. 1st St., Minneapolis, MN. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $18 in advance; $20 day of show. Information at berlinminneapolis.com. ∙ Monday, April 28 at Lowlands Bar, 543 Third Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. 8 and 9:30 p.m. Suggested donation $15. Information at lowlandsbar.com. ∙ Tuesday, April 29 at Notsolatin, 1440 W. Ritner St., Philadelphia, PA. ∙ Wednesday, April 30 at Le Mondo, 406 N. Howard St., Baltimore, MD. Tickets 7:30 p.m. $20. With drummer Matt Honor. Information at lemondo.org. Quartets has earned broad critical praise: ★★★★ "Quartets offers impressive variety in its exploration of moods, rhythms and original melodies." – Scott Yanow, DownBeat "For fans of evolving contemporary jazz, this album is indispensable. Kevin Sun shifts the lines and then returns to more classic forms. It's impossible to compare his style—he stands entirely on his own." – Thierry Clemensat, Paris Move "Kevin Sun's newest project 'Quartets' is a double album of two different quartets, divided up over 19 tracks, united under Sun's umbrella of witty tenor saxophone playing and pensive compositions." – Tristan Geary, New York City Jazz Record Best Album of 2024 – Mark Corroto, Lawrence Peryer, All About Jazz "Saxophonist Kevin Sun goes big again…He is an artist with a lot to say." – Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz "With Quartets, Sun offers an elegant summation of his musical interests to date, presenting thoughtful original compositions alongside inventive covers of personal favorites." – Russell Trunk, Exclusive Magazine "The album offers a total of one and a half hours of perfect jazz that is hard to tear yourself away from." – Jacek Brun, Jazz Fun "The album captures Sun's creative exploration and boundary-pushing artistry." – Geni Simon, Jazz Sketches "There's no doubt that Sun is a creative force on the contemporary jazz scene and he clearly advances his growing reputation with these two albums." – Jim Hynes, Making a Scene "…a superb set." – Andy Hamilton, Jazz Journal Kevin Sun 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 as a leader, most recently The Fate of the Tenor in March 2024. Sun has also released five albums with the cooperative bands Mute, Earprint, and Great On Paper, and he appears on recordings led by Adam O'Farrill, Jacob Garchik, Juanma Trujillo, Dana Saul, and Xiongguan Zhang, among others. 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 at the Blue Note Beijing with guest artists such as Rudresh Mahanthappa, Kris Davis, and Ingrid Jensen. He performs regularly at Lowlands Bar in Brooklyn, where he has been in residence since September 2021 with support from Keyed Up!, a program of the nonprofit organization Jazz Generation. In 2021, Sun was a Finalist for the Jerome Hill Foundation Artist Fellowship, and he plays VENN reeds by D'Addario exclusively. write your comments about the article :: © 2025 Jazz News :: home page |