GABRIEL ZUCKER

CONFESSION

Boom Slang Records

“Confession” is the result of six years of Gabriel Zucker’s woodshedding and creative work.  It began with musical ideas starting in 2018-19, developed during months of isolation in the desert of New Mexico at the height of the 2020 pandemic. Gabriel Zucker returned to his native New York a few months into 2021. For the next 2-years, he experimented with arrangements for the his compositions. This album becomes a blend of jazz and rock, fused with avant-garde and contemporary jazz, even some European classical overtones.

Zucker’s ensemble opens with “Velvet Ball of Light” that begins as a simple lullaby. Then, they low-mix Zucker’s lyrical vocals into the track. The tune develops into a progressive rock arrangement, flush with electronics. This is followed by the title tune (Confession #1) with a continuous sentence sung over and over again. The voice sings, “This is where you’re coming to.”

Gabriel Zucker, along with some of the most creative musicians in New York’s experimental jazz community, offers us a suite of music divided into four (4) parts. Each of the four sections includes three (3) songs.  In total, Zucker has included twelve songs that combine electronics, harmonic chants and voices, repetitious hooks and interjected solos. The third tune of Part 1 features Zucker’s piano soloing wildly with arpeggios and rhythmic, repetitious single note melodies, interjected like stutters in the wind.

Zucker also performs regularly as a concert pianist focusing more on a twentieth-century repertoire. His 2018 performance of Frederic Rzewski’s “Squares” was heralded by the New York Classical Review, calling it “best concert of the year.”  Prior to the pandemic, Zucker was co-manager and curator of the prominent experimental music venue, ‘Spectrum.’

In addition to his avant-garde projects, Zucker is a committed social activist. Until 2025, he was “Program Director for Tax Policy and Partnerships at the Civic Tech Non-Profit Code for America.” He has worked on homelessness and healthcare policy as a member of the U.S. Digital Service. He also co-led the successful campaign to end Veteran Homelessness in Connecticut. Gabriel Zucker graduated summa cum laude from Yale University in 2012.

BAND PERSONNEL: Gabriel Zucker, pianos/synthesizers/electronics/keyboards/voice/ composer/lyricist. Eva Lawitts, bass; Grey Mcmurray, guitar; Connor Parks & Henry Mermer, drums; Bergamot String Quartet: Ledah Finck, Sarah Thomas, Amy Huimel Tan & Irène Han. Robby Bowen & Alex Goldberg, drums; Taja Cheek & Alena Spanger, vocals; Laura Cocks, flute; Alfredo Colón, alto saxophone; Ledah Finck, violin; Daniel Kleederman & Matteo Liberatore, guitar; Matt Nelson, tenor saxophone; Adam O’Farrill.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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