<3 Bird  by Kevin Sun

​Released August 29, 2021

Kevin Sun ⋅ tenor saxophone & clarinet* 
Adam O’Farrill ⋅ trumpet (1, 10, 11, 12, 13)
Max Light ⋅ guitar (5, 8, 15)
Christian Li ⋅ piano & Fender Rhodes (2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13) 
Walter Stinson ⋅ double bass
Matt Honor ⋅ drums

*sheng on “Du Yi’s Choir” only
Endectomorph Music Catalog No.
EMM-010

Recorded by Aaron Nevezie at The Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, NY on February 26 & 27, 2021 ⋅ Mixed by Juanma Trujillo ⋅ Mastered by Eivind Opsvik at Greenwood Underground ⋅ Produced by Kevin Sun ⋅ Art direction and photography by Kevin Sun ⋅ Layout and additional photography by Diane Zhou ⋅ Total length: 48:57​

​All songs composed by Kevin Sun (The Kevin Sun Music / ASCAP) except the following, arranged by Sun:

“Big Foot” and “Klacto-veereds-tene,” composed by Charlie Parker
“Salt Peanuts,” co-composed by Dizzy Gillespie and Kenny Clarke

Liner notes

The implications of Charlie Parker’s art are fathomless, prefiguring music to come while rewarding perpetual re-interpretation.

Parker’s sonic language spans many worlds: the popular American vernacular of his day, Western European composition of earlier centuries, and the unheard sounds of the future. 

His phrases are a matrix of accents and embedded rhythms, which reflect an unfading link to the African diaspora and a debt that this nation and the world forever owes to Black American art. 

In his work, he achieved an encyclopedic unity of Joycean stature, and his improvisations remain as immaculate and sleek on paper as they sound effervescent and vital on record. 

As such, Parker was the ultimate modernist, and I have no doubt that he would soar with grace and beauty through this music if he could join us today. 

<3 Bird

Kevin Sun, spring 2021

* * * * *

About the songs:

Greenlit borrows its harmony from Parker’s early pioneering composition “Confirmation” and adds an oscillating metrical form and new melody.

Adroitness is based on “Dexterity,” focusing on melody in Part I and on rhythm in Part II.

Composite features the drums along a thickening web of melodies derived from four Parker blues compositions.

Onomatopoeia mashes up two minor key touchstones, Dizzy Gillespie’s “Be-Bop” and Parker’s “Segment.”

Dovetail is an abstract dance through Parker’s two studio take improvisations on “Yardbird Suite.”

Cheroot features the trio in extended dialogue over an accent map drawn from “She Rote.”

Du Yi’s Choir reimagines “Dewey Square” through the lens of the mysterious introduction from the studio master take.

Big Foot (or “Drifting on a Reed,” “Air Conditioner,” or “Giant Swing”) is a classic Parker blues revisited with a new groove.

Sturgis is based on Parker’s recorded improvisations on “Mohawk.”

Schaaple from the Appel explores the rhythmic implications of the introduction to “Scrapple from the Apple” and is a nod to both Phil Schaap and the misspelling on the “Happy Bird” LP.

Salt Peanuts was not composed by Parker but is nonetheless associated with him; this version mirrors that of the May 11, 1945 Guild recording (± a few beats here and there).

Arc’s Peel is based on Parker’s studio improvisations on “Scrapple.”
​
Talck-overseed-nete is a 5/4 arrangement of “Klact-oveeseds-tene,” which Peter Losin has argued is actually “Klact-oveereds-tene” based on analysis of Parker’s handwriting.

Press

★★★★☆ — DownBeat Magazine (December 2021)
Among the Boston Globe's "60 best albums of the year" (2021)
"...an engaging, delightful excursion into Birdology" – Hot House Jazz Guide
"...one of the finest and most inspired jazz saxophonists on the scene today" — Monarch Magazine
"...tremendous compositional acuity and flawless execution." — JazzTrail
"So how does it sound? In a word: terrific." — ​Jazziz
Press inquiries: 
Ann Braithwaite
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
[email protected]​