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Weighting | Leftover Beats From The Edges Of Time | Solo | Zucker-Gyarfas Duo | Other Ways To Be Apart | Evergreen (Canceled World) | Postcards | No Reference For Taste | Other
Weighting
Weighting is an 8-movement work inspired by Rachel Kushner’s novel The Flamethrowers. Featuring Zucker, Tyshawn Sorey, Adam O’Farrill, and Eric Trudel, the piece was released by ESP-Disk' in fall 2018.
The record was recognized as a Debut of the Year by the New York City Jazz Record, listed among the Best of 2018 by Avant Music News, and featured as a runner-up for Stereogum’s Best Jazz of 2018 list. Jazz Trail wrote: “Zucker’s advanced compositional work is knotty, unpredictable, and utterly satisfying. Spinning with freshness and maturity, Weighting is put forward with a sterling avant-garde posture that reflects the artistry and commitment of the musicians involved.”
Gabriel Zucker - piano, compositions; Tyshawn Sorey - drums; Adam O‘Farrill - trumpet; Eric Trudel - tenor sax
Leftover Beats From The Edges Of Time
Gabriel Zucker’s indie jazz orchestra The Delegation was born at the Banff Jazz and Creative Music Workshop. Combining an array of disparate influences into a unique and emotionally immediate sound, The Delegation has performed throughout North America and Europe, and Zucker’s compositions for the group have received awards from ASCAP and the American Composers Forum JFund grant.
The group’s sophomore album, Leftover Beats From The Edges Of Time, was released in September 2021, marked by an ambitious multimedia performance at Roulette. The record features: Adam O’Farrill, Nolan Tsang, Anna Webber, Eric Trudel, Yuma Uesaka, Artemisz Polonyi, Lorena Del Mar, Tal Yahalom, Bam Rodriguez, Mat Muntz, Gabriel Globus-Hoenich, Alex Goldberg, Kate Gentile, Joanna Mattrey, Mariel Roberts. In March 2022, Zucker released Leftover Beats (Live), a live recording of trio arrangements of the record’s compositions.
Solo
As a solo pianist, Zucker focuses on twentieth century repertoire, as well as his own songs and compositions, and improvised music. He has been presented in recital at Weill Recital Hall and throughout the Northeast and Europe. Recent/upcoming performances include Messiaen’s Vingt Regards Sur L’Enfant Jesus, Wadada Leo Smith’s piano pieces, and Rzewski’s Squares, the last of which was listed among the best of 2018 by the New York Classical Review. In 2016, Zucker and pianist Erika Dohi realized Johnny Reinhard’s microtonal interpretation of Ives’s Concord Sonata, a recording of which was released by the American Festival of Microtonal Music in 2018.
Zucker-Gyárfás Duo
Attila Gyárfás (drums) and Gabriel Zucker (piano, synth, voice) have been making music since they met in 2017 in New York. Their duo infuses sonic and rhythmic freedom into complex, maximalist compositions, with a unique blend of contemplative soundscapes, aggressive virtuosic rhythms, and singer-songwriter influences.
Their debut record Cities and Deserts was released in 2022 on Hunnia Records. Avant Music News described it as “an effort that is offbeat, avant-garde, and technical, while still pulling at the emotions...Two thumbs up and highly recommended.” Cities and Deserts was voted among the top Hungarian jazz records of 2022 in the Jazz.Hu readers poll.
The duo has performed in recent years in 14 countries around the world.
Other Ways To Be Apart
underorder is an avant indie band that sets simple folklike melodies within dense, evocative soundscapes and epic compositions. The band’s sophomore release, Other Ways To Be Apart, after a pandemic interruption, was released in September 2024.
Gabriel Zucker - music & lyrics, guitar, vocals; Dan Kleederman - guitar, vocals; Marty Kenney - bass; Connor Parks - drums
Evergreen (Canceled World)
In 2016, The Delegation brought its unique concept to life with the release of Evergreen (Canceled World), Zucker’s maximalist 12-movement composition that serves as the band’s sprawlingly ambitious debut record, on ESP-Disk'. The record was awarded 4.5 stars in Downbeat and 4 stars in All About Jazz.
Featuring: Adam O’Farrill, Eric Trudel, Jacob Teichroew, Artemisz Polonyi, Lorena Del Mar, Gabriel Globus-Hoenich, Mark Chung, Ron Lawrence, Eric Allen.
Postcards
Gabriel Zucker - music & lyrics, guitar, vocals; Dan Kleederman - guitar, vocals; David Halpern - bass; Matt Woroshyl - saxophone; Connor Parks - drums
No Reference For Taste
No Reference For Taste is the core duo of Gabriel Zucker (piano) and Gabriel Globus-Hoenich (drums), also featuring collaborators Tal Yahalom (guitar) and Walter Stinson (bass). Based on their work in Zucker’s ensemble The Delegation, the duo brings a brash and reckless approach to metrically complex music, creating energetic live performances with the drive of rock music and the nuance of contemporary jazz. No Reference For Taste released its self-titled debut record in January 2017. (Live video)
Other
Zucker’s composition New York, USA, 2018 was premiered at Carnegie Hall in April 2018, featuring Tyshawn Sorey on drums.
In 2012, Zucker was commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony First Music program to write a piece for symphony orchestra and jazz band; the resulting work Universal at Midnight was premiered at Carnegie Hall. Zachary Woolfe wrote in the New York Times that the work “suavely combined a symphony orchestra and a jazz band, beginning with a haunting orchestral hush and passing a gentle theme through the jazz soloists. It was a nocturne out of early Bernstein or introspective Sinatra.”
Yesterday’s Mirrors, performed by the JACK Quartet in 2011.
“Sandy,” performed by Two Out Rally.