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Yuhan Su: Naked Swimmer

By John Chacona
December 2, 2023
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For Liberated Gesture, her fourth release, Taiwan-born, New York vibraphonist

Yuhan Su

vibraphone

" data-original-title="" title="">Yuhan Su assembled a band of saxophonist

Caroline Davis

saxophone
b.1981

" data-original-title="" title="">Caroline Davis, pianist

Matt Mitchell

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Matt Mitchell, bassist

Marty Kenney

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Marty Kenney and drummer

" data-original-title="" title="">Dan Weiss, all of whom play at their usual exalted level. That's fast company, but Su holds her own, moving smoothly in and out of taut ensemble passages and soloing with the clarity and subtle color of tinted quartz. Still, she makes her most impressive contribution on Liberated Gesture with her pen, not her mallets. All the compositions are Su's and at 72 minutes, the recording provides a generous opportunity for her to show her compositional range, from the jittery, M-Base-y "Character" to the haunted watchfulness of "Didion." Her skill in keeping opposites in equipoise shines on "Naked Swimmer," an aqueous ballad where unease lurks a few strokes behind the exhilaration of a solitary midnight swim.

Contact John Chacona on All About Jazz.
John Chacona is a freelance journalist, content writer and producer in Cleveland.

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