Yuhan Su: Liberated Gesture

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Dan Weiss
Matt Mitchell
Caroline Davis (as)
Marty Kenney (b, el b)
Yuhan Su (vb)

Label:

Sunnyside

February/2024

Media Format:

CD, DL

Catalogue Number:

SSC1740

RecordDate:

Rec. date not stated

The Taiwanese-born New Yorker’s second Sunnyside release explores the sharp-angled rhythms and modal harmonies that characterised Bobby Hutcherson’s first Blue Note releases. But new moves make the approach sound fresh, Su’s compositions are constructed with purpose and the vibraphonist has a vivid imagination and terrific control of sound. Pianist Matt Mitchell is equally assured, and blends well with Su’s mixture of the metallic and the sensuous.

On the downside, fluent and focussed alto saxophonist Caroline Davis is either under-recorded or tonally weak and an occasionally muddy mix means some of the detail of Dan Weiss’s drumming is lost.

‘Hi-tech Pros and Cons’ opens the album with a step-change sequence and proceeds at speed, ‘Character’ follows, built on funky bass, and then ‘Naked Swimmer’, an album highlight of sensitive interplay, hovers in space before unfolding at a mid-tempo pace. Three sax-free tracks from Su’s 'Liberated Gesture Suite' shine the spotlight on piano and vibes and also stand out. ‘Hassan’s Fashion Magazine’ is the closer, a slow burn in a single key and a bit of a thrash.

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