AARON QUINN & SUNCHOKE

TO BE HELD

Endectomorph Music

Aaron Quinn, guitar/composer; Walter Stinson, bass; Matt Honor, drums; David Leon, alto saxophone. 

Aaron Quinn’s compositional approach on this album stems from raw emotion, along with a harmonic vocabulary pulled from hardcore bands. His melodic emphasis reflects deep classical influences. Much of Aaron Quinn’s writing was developed just before the 2020 pandemic. His quartet, ‘Sunchoke’ has been developing these songs and arrangements over several years. The result is this seven-track album.  It represents Quinn’s debut release as a leader of improvised free music.

They open with “Please Sit at an Interval” that blends electronics into the production. Sunchoke features the alto saxophone of David Leon. He plays atop an established slow beat, improvising with Aaron Quinn’s guitar. The tune sets a mood of eerie suspense for about two minutes.

The next tune is “Turnips,” spurred by various sax techniques and avant-garde musical statements, some that are musically dissonant. Quinn’s electric guitar leads the quartet, improvising wildly, spurred on by Matt Honor’s energetic drums. This month, “Turnips” will be the third single released from this album.

The song “Sunchoke” celebrates the quartet’s name and is more melodic than the first two compositions. This time Walter Stinson is invited to the spotlight on double bass. He captivates! The arrangement leaves empty space to create tension with beats of silence.

The first single from the album is “Wasabi.” I’m familiar with the herb as a spicy, hot Japanese product served with sushi. Using staccato notes and instrument effects to create an Avant-garde arrangement, the quartet creates a peppery musical mood. This song continues to display the quartet’s approach to playing free, improvised music.  The second single from this album was released in December and titled “Look Elsewhere” that features Quinn’s guitar expertise.

A tune called, “Beef” is an example of the contrapuntal arrangement Quinn employs.  It helps to define Quinn’s first book of music that began as a single, layered line.

“I feel incredibly lucky that they want to play this music with me. They are not only some of my favorite musicians, but also honest, sweet, and caring individuals. I believe that comes through in their performance on the record. It’s awe-inspiring to see them trust the compositions enough to pour their genuine selves into the creation of this album,” Quinn complements his Sunchoke bandmates in his press package.

Aaron Quinn is a performer, guitarist and composer living in Brooklyn, New York. He was selected as one of the composers to take part in the European/American Alliance in Paris last year (2025).  As an educator, he has been an artist in residence at such schools as Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, the Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C., and he teaches privately at the Kaufman Music Center in NYC.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

Subscribe to Our Newsletter