The Fate of the Tenor by Kevin Sun

Out March 8, 2024 – Available on Bandcamp // streaming

Kevin Sun ⋅ tenor saxophone
Walter Stinson ⋅ bass
Matt Honor ⋅ drums
​
Track Listing
  1. ​Involuted Blues
  2. Elden Steps
  3. Karaoke Hero
  4. Dance Bleak
  5. A Flower is a Lovesome Thing
  6. Demonesque
  7. Lowlands

Endectomorph Music Catalog No.
EMM-018

Recorded by Juanma Trujillo at Lowlands Bar, Brooklyn, NY on June 21, 2022 ⋅ Mixed by Juanma Trujillo ⋅ Mastered by Brent Lambert at The Kitchen ⋅ Produced by Kevin Sun ⋅ Cover photography by Grace Ann Leadbeater ⋅ Design by Dana Khagabanova

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

“A Flower is a Lovesome Thing” composed by Billy Strayhorn

Live Microphone Setup:

Saxophone: Electro-Voice RE320, AEA N22
Bass: Schoeps CMC6 with MK41 capsule (hypercardioid) with ExplorAudio H-Clamp, AEA N22
Drums: Shure Beta 52A (kick), Shure SM57 (snare), SE Electronics X1r (2x, overheads)

Recorded via Focusrite Scarlett 18I20 3rd Generation USB Audio Interface to Kevin's MacBook

Special thanks to Juanma for providing the AEA, Shure, and SE Electronics microphones and Simón Willson for sharing his Schoeps microphone.

Liner notes

Some venues are intentional while others are happenstance, and Lowlands wasn't always a place for jazz or its players. 

The first time I met Walter, he was on a date with a regular from the bar. He was wearing a red headband, a basketball jersey, and Nike Air Force 1s. It looked like he was vying for the affection of the Chicago Bulls, much less a woman. I soon learned that he used his towering height not to block shots, but to handle a standup bass. 

A few months later he introduced me to Kevin and asked if they could do a happy hour gig at the bar. 

I figured, why not?  I love jazz. Mom loves jazz. And if the bar patrons don't like jazz, they can go somewhere else. 

This is Brooklyn, after all. 

Fast forward a few years to the night this album was recorded. Kevin is wearing a green jersey and playing like an ascendant Jason Tatum. Walter is dribbling apace and improvising agile moves not typical of a player of that size and clout. And Matt is tying it all together, since a team relies on a steady rhythm as much as it relies on a fast break. 

Kevin, Walter, and Matt infused a new identity into Lowlands, and anyone there that night saw the bar discover a new part of itself.

—John Niccoli, Brooklyn, Spring 2023

Press

"...striking that deliciously sweet spot between form and formlessness ... gives way to a rapturous swinging affair, celebrating the dive bar’s namesake, and how it feels to be at home with your band." — The New York City Jazz Record
Press inquiries: 
Matt Merewitz / Fully Altered Media – More Information