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Reviews

Gabriel Vicéns — Niebla
(Bandcamp Clepsydra no#, 2026, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2026-06-02

Niebla Cover art

Gabriel Vicéns is a Puerto Rican composer, bandleader and jazz guitarist who has been based in New York City for many years now. Niebla is his fifth solo album, following others that we have reviewed in Exposé previously. The nine track herein explore a range of styles within the jazz idiom, some very lively and eccentric, others are closer to ambient, and on several of the cuts one can find a healthy dose of both wrapped up together in one package. Niebla features most of the same core players as 2021’s The Way We Are Created, which includes Roman Filiú on alto sax, Rick Rosato on bass, Vitor Conçalves on piano, E.J. Strickland on drums, and Victor Pablo on percussion, the latter two essential to the Afro-Carribean rhythms that permeate many of the tracks. Conçalves is new to the group, replacing the previous pianist Glenn Zaleski. The entire set is bookended by two short guitar solo pieces, “El Fin de la Noche...” and “...Y la Lluvia,” both very quiet and gentle, dare I say almost ambient in nature. The liveliest pieces include “Stray Dogs” and the title track, both overflowing with polyrhythms and odd meters, swift changes in tempo, and exciting melodic turnabouts, with guitars and saxes playing off one another, while piano eases in to provide additional energy as required. These two pieces, in particular, sound very composed and tightly played, yet still convey a powerful sense of freedom. “Vejigante” seems to move into a more organized improv territory, with a couple point s where everything just stops on a dime, going into full-on improvisations. Two epic length tracks, “900-50-80” at eleven minutes, and “Ramaje” at fifteen, will test the listener’s patience as they move between livelier sections and those of flowing ambience, occasionally with long blocks of near silence, other times with one or two instruments playing off one another while the piece slowly progresses. This is definitely a great group of players, and Vicéns, for his part as both composer and guitarist, has some powerful ideas, yet sometimes things move a little too slowly for me.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Gabriel Vicéns

More info
http://gabrielvicens.bandcamp.com/album/niebla

 

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