the delegation
★★★★½ “a fascinating form of sonic installation blending wild improvisation, classical strings, disciplined unison passages and untrammeled solo excursions.” — Carlo Wolff, Downbeat
“In Zucker’s almost confrontational writing I find the vision of one who is hugely expressive. Here is a young man with a profound sense of tone and colour and how it can be wrought from diverse instrumentation to be affectingly ‘cantorial’, expressive and hugely symphonic too.” — Raul da Gama, World Music Report
★★★★ “Evergreen (Canceled World) totally lives up to its larger-than-life sweep and scope.” — Dave Wayne, All About Jazz
“Evergreen is a rewarding example of what Brooklyn has to offer avant garde jazz-rock and demonstrates that ESP-Disk’ hasn’t lost its adventurous spirit.” — Alex Henderson, New York City Jazz Record
Alex Henderson, New York City Jazz Record, Evergreen (Canceled World) Review, October 2017.
Steve Greenlee, Jazz Times, The Top 50: Writers’ Ballots (#3 of 2016), 22 February 2017.
Carlo Wolff, Downbeat, Mightier Than The Sword, April 2017.
Dave Wayne, All About Jazz, The Delegation: Evergreen (Canceled World), 4 January 2017.
Raul da Gama, World Music Report, The Delegation: Evergreen (Canceled World) Review, 31 October 2016.
George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly, BIG SESSIONS: Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra: Basically Baker Vol 2, The Delegation: Evergreen (Canceled World), 12 January 2017.
Bird is the Worm, Recommended: The Delegation – Evergreen (Canceled World), 12 November 2016.
Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen, Pianist/composer Gabriel Zucker, on creating 'a more thorough and complete expression about the world,' 25 October 2016.
Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, Recommended Disc Picks for 2016.
Sylvannia Garutch, The Jazz Word, The Delegation – Evergreen (Canceled World), 14 November 2016.
American Composers Forum, Gabriel Zucker: Maximalism and Negative Space, 4 February 2015.
Jazz Speaks, Gabriel Zucker Speaks, 4 May 2014.
The brainchild of pianist/composer Gabriel Zucker, indie jazz orchestra The Delegation continues to break new ground in New York’s dynamic music scene. Combining Zucker’s metric complexity and maximalist approach with the melodic stylings of indie rock, the group’s impressive roster of jazz players forge a unique and emotionally immediate sound, representing a singular approach to improvisation in the 21st century. The ensemble’s musical philosophy has been profiled at length by the Ottawa Citizen, the Jazz Gallery, and the American Composers Forum. The Delegation has performed throughout the Northeast, Canada, and Europe, and Zucker’s compositions for the group have received awards from ASCAP and the American Composers Forum.
In October 2016, The Delegation released Evergreen (Canceled World), Zucker’s impassioned 12-movement composition that serves as the band’s sprawlingly ambitious debut record. One of the only contemporary 2016 releases on ESP-Disk’, the singular record appeared on top-10 lists and was hailed as a “fascinating form of sonic installation” in a 4.5-star review in Downbeat. Awarding the record 4 stars, All About Jazz raved that Evergreen “totally lives up to its larger-than-life sweep and scope.” The World Music Report wrote: “In Zucker’s almost confrontational writing I find the vision of one who is hugely expressive. Here is a young man with a profound sense of tone and colour and how it can be wrought from diverse instrumentation to be affectingly ‘cantorial’, expressive and hugely symphonic too.” With protean production by Zucker and pop producer Chris Connors, the nearly-two-hour record features everything from angular rhythmic grooves to Radiohead-inspired soundscapes to jarring electronics-infused chamber music to enigmatic lullabies.
The Delegation's equally grandiose sophomore record, Leftover Beats From The Edges Of Time, was recorded in December 2017, following the world premiere of excerpts at Weill Hall in March 2017. Leftover Beats will be released early next year.