Kevin Sun: Kevin Sun, II.

In the first half of saxophonist Kevin Sun's 2026 simultaneous release project, Kevin Sun, I. (Endectomorph, 2026), the artist took the sound into an adventurous, walk-on-the-wild-side territory. His Kevin Sun, II. pulls it back closer to the mainstream—sort of. Both of the outings are sax-and-a-rhythm-section recordings—I. featuring a guitar in the chording chair, and II, with a piano. The former rises to almost John Coltrane-like freedom; the latter sounds more like Dexter Gordon or maybe Sonny Rollins, laying down some tracks in a relaxed, after-hours mood.

On both albums, the chord guys are essential to the mood-building. Max Light, the guitarist on Kevin Sun I. invites into the cosmos; On Kevin Sun II., pianist Christian Li opens the door to elegance in the center of an assertive quartet sound. At times, he is almost harp-like in his delicacy of touch. Rounded out by Kayvon Gordon on drums and Walter Stinson on bass, the music has a satisfying cohesion—moody and quirky, with the leader displaying a brawny power that counterpoints Li's restraint and searching suppleness.

The opener, "Unformed, Shrouded By Fog (Souls Prologue)," takes its inspiration from the Dark Soul video game trilogy, as does Shunsuki Kida's "Souls Of Mist," a tune that Sun says—in terms of his arrangement—was influenced by Coltrane's "Crescent." "Laura Palmer's Theme," penned by Angelo Badalamenti , comes from the Twin Peaks television show.

In eight years, releasing 13 albums and playing countless shows, Sun has risen to the top tier of the heap of young saxophonists. He is an artist who has crafted his own idiosyncratic sound, beginning with 2018's Trio (Ectomorph), to a pair of his finest efforts, the Kevin Sun I. and Kevin Sun II., a couple of innovative offerings that find him at the peak of his powers.