New York-based vibraphonist Yuhan Su, a Taiwanese native, has built a reputation as “among the most prominent contemporary voices” (Jazziz) on her instrument. Liberated Gesture, her second release for Sunnyside (and fourth album overall), follows up City Animals from 2018 with a new set of original compositions, a new band of heavyweights and a renewed outlook on art and possibility.

Joined by altoist Caroline Davis, pianist Matt Mitchell, bassist Marty Kenney and drummer Dan Weiss, Su brings to life an ambitious set of music with the common theme of finding freedom. “Throughout the years,” she says, “I’ve come to realize that to be free, to break from all constraints and preconceived notions, is what I’ve been chasing all along. I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders, and as I opened my eyes again, I found nothing but wild and eerily beautiful things on the road in front of me. This album represents the freedom that I’ve been searching for, a more polished version of myself and a message about the time that we are in.”.

Su wrote half of the repertoire in 2019 during a six-month residency at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, and the rest during the pandemic in Taiwan and New York. She formed the Liberated Gesture quintet in late 2021.