Critically acclaimed guitarist and composer Gabriel Vicéns has been praised 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." A native of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Vicéns relocated to New York City after more than a decade of performing and recording with his ensemble and other leading Puerto Rican jazz artists, as well as a four-year professorship at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico.
His work spans a wide range of contemporary musical expressions, including modern creative jazz, new classical music, and experimental genres. In his compositional practice, Vicéns engages with themes of cultural identity, diaspora, decolonization, ambiguity, memory, temporality, and the interplay between sound and visual art. Methodologically, his work employs a diverse array of approaches and techniques, including indeterminacy, serialism, minimalism, improvisation, and through-composition. Many of his pieces incorporate intricate polyrhythms rooted in jazz and Afro-Puerto Rican folkloric traditions, such as bomba and plena, often utilizing native Puerto Rican instruments. This multidimensional approach reflects Vicéns’ distinct voice as both a composer and performer, demonstrating his deep engagement with a broad and dynamic musical landscape.
He has been featured at renowned venues and festivals, including the Heineken Jazz Fest in Puerto Rico, SF Jazz Center in San Francisco, Ljubljana Jazz Festival in Slovenia, Uno Jazz San Remo Festival in Italy, and Havana World Music Festival in Cuba. He has collaborated with acclaimed artists, such as Eddie Gómez, Miguel Zenón, Alex Sipiagin, John Benitez, Paoli Mejias, Luis Perdomo, David Sánchez, and Will Vinson, among others. In New York City, he has frequently performed at prominent venues such as The Cell Theater, Cornelia Street Cafe, Birdland Jazz Club, Teatro LATEA, Fat Cat, The Owl Music Parlor, and Terraza 7, both as a bandleader and as a sideman.
His debut album, Point In Time, independently released in 2012 when he was 23 years old, features tenor saxophonist David Sánchez and legendary bassist Eddie Gómez, who praises Vicéns as "a creative musician who displays a new vision on the guitar." The release garnered rave reviews in numerous jazz publications worldwide, including Jazz Inside Magazine, All About Jazz, and JAZZIZ. World-renowned jazz critic and writer Bill Milkowski noted in JazzTimes: “Guitarist-composer Gabriel Vicéns, a leading light of Puerto Rico’s jazz scene, flaunts a modernist sensibility on his impressive debut as a leader."
In 2015, Vicéns released his second studio album, Days, on Greg Osby’s influential record label Inner Circle Music. The record was co-produced with acclaimed trumpeter Alex Sipiagin and features performances by Sipiagin, saxophonist David Sánchez, and percussionist Paoli Mejías. The album garnered wide critical acclaim, including 4 stars in DownBeat and 4.5 stars in All About Jazz. Music critic Mark F. Turner wrote, “A rising jazz guitarist ... Vicéns has provided a splendid recording that conveys a clear representation of his culture and individuality.”
Gabriel Vicéns’ third album, The Way We Are Created, released in 2021 on Inner Circle Music, was co-produced with renowned Puerto Rican saxophonist Miguel Zenón and explores a distinctive fusion of modern jazz with folkloric music from Puerto Rico. The record features some of today's most accomplished musicians in the New York City jazz scene: Roman Filiú (alto saxophone), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Rick Rosato (bass), E.J. Strickland (drums), and Victor Pablo (percussion). Writing in Jazz Journal, music critic Roger Farbey observed: “The meticulously constructed compositions benefit from canny arrangements utilising all the instruments in a perfectly balanced formation of tonality and harmonic colour.” R.J. DeLuke of All About Jazz described Vicéns as “… a remarkable voice and an artist with something valid to say.”
In addition to his work as a bandleader, Vicéns is co-leader of the free jazz and experimental ensemble No Base Trio. Formed in 2010 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with alto saxophonist Jonathan Suazo and drummer Leonardo Osuna, the group has released two albums on the avant-garde label Setola di Maiale: their eponymous debut in 2020, followed by NBT II in 2022. Both records received strong reviews in prominent publications such as The Free Jazz Collective, Avant Music News, and Percorsi Musicali. Music critic Mike Jurkovic, writing for All About Jazz, commented, "Its cascading, formless ambience affords strange new spaces to inhabit, explore, and contemplate during lockdown." Musicologist Marc Medwin added, “There are groups that fail to accomplish exactly what makes this group successful, and that involves listening.”
In 2022, Vicéns entered the studio to record Mural, an album featuring a selection of original chamber works for various ensembles, including piano trio, wind quintet, and Pierrot ensemble, among others. The recording brought together some of the most distinguished performers from New York City’s classical scene, whose interpretations bring Vicéns' compositions vividly to life. Released in spring 2024 by the Milan-based label Stradivarius, Mural is Vicéns’ fourth studio album and his first to highlight his work as a composer of contemporary classical music. Writing in American Record Guide, critic and musicologist Rob Haskins noted, “All the works here are arresting ... The attention to propulsive rhythm, sometimes even pulse, puts Vicéns in the orbit of today’s music.” Composer and critic David DeBoor Canfield also praised the album in Fanfare, stating, “It is thus to the adventurous that I give a hearty recommendation of this well-recorded disc.” Mural has received further acclaim from publications including MusicWeb International and Neue Musikzeitung. The liner notes were written by prominent musicologist Tim Rutherford-Johnson.
Gabriel Vicéns earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz and Caribbean Music Studies and Performance from the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, where he studied under Fernando Mattina and graduated summa cum laude as the first guitarist in the program. In 2017, he earned a Master of Music in Jazz Studies and Performance from Queens College, studying with Paul Bollenback.
Between 2019 and 2021, Vicéns pursued studies in painting at The Art Students League of New York. During this period, he worked with color-field painter Pat Lipsky and occasionally assisted her in the studio.
In 2022, he received a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies and Performance from Stony Brook University, under the mentorship of Ray Anderson. During his doctoral studies, Vicéns also focused on composition and worked closely with Daria Semegen. His academic pursuits emphasized the integration of modern jazz with Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena, as well as composing contemporary classical and experimental music. Additionally, he pursued further composition studies with Carlos Cabrer, Lois V. Vierk, Marti Epstein, and Antoine Beuger.
Vicéns is currently working on two new projects scheduled to be recorded in 2025.
He is a recipient of the prestigious “New Jazz Works” grant from Chamber Music America (2023).