Niebla by Gabriel Vicéns

ABOUT THE ALBUM

New York City-based, Puerto Rican-born guitarist, composer, and visual artist Gabriel Vicéns releases his fifth studio album, Niebla, a boundary-defying work that merges the vibrant rhythms of Afro-Puerto Rican folklore with the harmonic richness of modern jazz and the fearless spirit of avant-garde experimentation.

Niebla (which translates to “fog”) is a sonic journey through the cultural and emotional depths of identity, tradition, and innovation. Rooted in the rhythms of bomba and plena, the album pulses with ancestral energy while venturing into new territory through complex jazz harmonies, spontaneous improvisation, and experimental textures. The result is a sound world at once grounded and exploratory, reverent and radical.

“This album is a conversation across time,” says Vicéns. “It’s my way of honoring the rhythms of Puerto Rico while opening them to contemporary expression and sonic experimentation, a space where ancestral memory, diasporic identity, and creative freedom intersect.”

But Vicéns is not only honoring the rhythms of his native Puerto Rico, he is also showcasing the masterful sound of a handmade classical guitar, built in 1987 by esteemed Puerto Rican luthier Fidencio Díaz, which can be heard on three of the tracks. “Puerto Rico has a deep-rooted tradition of luthiery, and I’ve been exploring that history while learning about the work of Díaz, Manuel Velázquez, Rafael Rosado, Manuel Rodríguez ‘Feneque,’ and many others. I’m actually working on my sixth album now, recorded entirely with the Díaz guitar.”

Featuring the same core band that recorded on Vicéns’ third studio album, The Way We Are Created (Inner Circle Music, 2021), this new release brings together Roman Filiú on alto saxophone, Rick Rosato on bass, E.J. Strickland on drums, Victor Pablo on percussion, and Vitor Gonçalves, who replaces Glenn Zaleski on piano. Together, they form an ensemble of daring musicians who move fluidly through propulsive rhythms, burning solos, shifting time signatures, dissonant sonorities, textural improvisations, and moments of meditative stillness. The record invites listeners into a sonic landscape that is as fascinating as it is diverse.

“This album carries a lot of energy, with sections that drive forward with incredible rhythm, but it also holds many spaces for introspection, in its moments of silence, slowness, quietude, and repetition. For the past decade, I’ve been deeply interested in the concept of temporality. By weaving these elements together, I aim to create a sense of stillness that confronts the listener with the passage of time, evoking contemplation and inviting them to engage with the music on a deeper level. This, I believe, also offers a much-needed space in a world that is increasingly fast-paced and perpetually seeking instant gratification.”

Vicéns connects this temporal exploration with the cultural foundations of the music. “Honoring the ancestral pulse while welcoming the unknown is essential for innovation and the birth of new ideas. Bomba and plena are traditions rooted in both resistance and celebration, reminding us of the strength carried by cultural heritage and the ongoing process of decolonization. At the same time, embracing silence and slowness can be a powerful response to our fast-paced, capitalist world. By setting these elements alongside Puerto Rican rhythms and sounds, I aim to explore how we might connect with the past, engage fully with the present, and imagine the future.”

Tracks like Niebla and Stray Dogs (named after a film by director Tsai Ming-liang) showcase the band’s propulsive energy and virtuosic solos, while 900-50-80 (titled after a painting by Puerto Rican abstract expressionist Olga Albizu) unfolds with an introspective, haunting atmosphere. Meanwhile, pieces such as Vejigante (a folkloric figure in Puerto Rican culture) and Ramaje (which translates to “branches”) move fluidly between these realms, exploring the juxtaposition of multiple temporal frameworks, featuring sections governed by a grid-like rhythmic structure and others that abandon rigidity in favor of a more fluid sense of duration. Reflecting on the striking repertoire gathered on this album, acclaimed music journalist Bill Milkowski writes in the liner notes, “Niebla is a boundary-defying sonic journey where silence holds as much agency as a ripping guitar solo or an intricate line of unisons executed with unerring skill.”

Supported by Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works program and funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Niebla is produced by Vicéns and released on his label, Clepsydra Records. The album was recorded at the renowned Sear Sound in New York City by master engineer Chris Allen, edited by Grammy winner Danilo Pichardo, and mixed and mastered by the legendary David Darlington, resulting in a sound that captures the raw immediacy of live performance while achieving remarkable studio precision. The release also includes a 24-page booklet with stunning photography by Adrien H. Tillmann and liner notes by Bill Milkowski.

Niebla is meticulously crafted as a meditation on cultural memory and temporal abstraction, pushing the boundaries of conventional musical forms. With deep reverence for ancestral rhythms and a fearless commitment to innovation, Vicéns invites listeners into a richly layered sound world where Afro-Puerto Rican heritage intersects seamlessly with jazz, free improvisation, indeterminacy, and stillness, each becoming an instrument in its own right. This record stands as a powerful artistic statement, embodying the urgency of cultural resurgence and resistance in our contemporary moment.

Described by DownBeat as “a thoughtful improviser with a quiet tone who makes every note count,” and by Latin Jazz Network as “an exceptional artist, with a shimmering sense of sonority and the ability to find a keen balance between poetry and intensity,” Gabriel Vicéns is a New York City-based, Puerto Rican-born guitarist and composer whose work spans a wide range of musical expressions.

gabrielvicens.com