Confession is the sixth, most ambitious album of American, New York-based polymath Gabriel Zucker—a pianist, composer, singer-songwriter, and producer—who describes himself as «musical maximalist». He previously composed music rooted in free improvisation, led the indie jazz orchestra The Delegation, performed twentieth-century piano repertoire by Olivier Messiaen, Charles Ives, and Fredric Rzewski, and collaborated with Wadada Leo Smith, Anna Webber, Jon Irabagon, Kate Gentile, and Tony Malaby.
Confession is an hour-long, twelve-movement suite, arranged in four continuous acts (Morning, daytime, indoors; Nighttime, underground; Outside of time and place; and Afternoon, sunrise, outdoors). It offers an impossible but highly arresting, post-modern mix of urgently emotional, experimental, art-rock songs for disconnected times, that navigates seamlessly between acoustic free jazz, ethereal and quite bombastic electronic textures, IDM-inflected, synthesised beats, and chamber, string-based pieces, often reaching the verge of chaos. Zucker took six years to complete this album, but most of it was written at the height of the pandemic in the deserts of New Mexico. It was primarily recorded at Figure 8 Studio in Brooklyn in two days in April 2023. Afterward, Zucker extensively overdubbed, re-worked, and post-produced the pieces continuously over the following two years, and it was finally produced by Zucker and bassist Eva Lawitts.
This emotional, cinematic rollercoaster reflects on the necessary vulnerability that connects one person to another and allows one to know the other deeply, the loss of a close relationship, self-doubt, and existential disorientation. It is built around a few recurring motifs and themes, arranged into four continuous acts. Each act showcases too Zucker’s kaleidoscopic treatment of distinct emotional moods, intricate orchestration, and contracting and expanding meters. Surprisingly, it flows in a cohesive, captivating logic of its own, calling for repeated listening to fully unpack Zucker’s fearless, maximalist musical vision.
Eyal Hareuveni
Gabriel Zucker (pianos, synthesizers, electronics, keyboards, voice), Eva Lawitts (bass), Grey McMurray (guitar), Connor Parks drums), Henry Mermer (drums), Bergamot Quartet: Ledah Finck (violin) Sarah Thomas (violin), Amy Huimei Tan (viola), Irène Han (cello), Robby Bowen (drums), Taja Cheek (voice), Laura Cocks (flute), Alfredo Colón (alto saxophone), Ledah Finck (violin), Alex Goldberg (drums), Daniel Kleederman (guitar), Matteo Liberatore (guitar), Matt Nelson (tenor saxophone), Adam O’Farrill (trumpet), Alena Spanger (voice)
