Gabriel Terracciano has been playing the violin since the age of three. After eight years of strictly classical training, he discovered the jazz violin playing of Joe Venuti and, later on, Zbigniew Seifert, who both changed his musical life (and life in general!) forever. Now 25, Gabe has developed into a versatile multiinstrumentalist and a musician who has been recognized for playing the violin “in a way that’s unlike anyone else” (Sam Pfeifle, Portland Phoenix, November 14, 2012). As an improvising string player, Gabe has delved into the fields of modern jazz, Gypsy and hot jazz, Middle Eastern, electronic, pop, bluegrass, and Latin styles, just to name a few! He has played throughout the United States at venues including Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (New York, NY), Rockwood Music Hall (New York, NY), Club Bonafide (New York, NY), The State Theatre (Portland, ME), Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) and The Lucas Theatre (Savannah, GA) as both a leader and sideman. He also spent several months during 2014 and 2015 in Ghana, where he played and
toured extensively with the Ghanaian National Symphony Orchestra. He is currently a member of several New York-based groups including The Ben Kogan Band, The Harmolodic String Band, Wet Electric, The Hot Toddies, and Brad Shepik’s Balkan Peppers, in addition to leading his own quartet. He has performed at multiple festivals including the Aspen Jazz Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Gabe has recorded with bassist Ron McClure on two albums for Steeplechase Records (Crunch Time in 2012, and Ready or Not in 2013), and with acclaimed pianist Samuel Ascher-Weiss (Shnabubula) for the album Americana Dawn: Civilized Folk (2013). He was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at UCLA in February 2016, and was also selected to participate in the 2014 and 2015 Savannah Music Festival’s Acoustic Music Seminar as one of only sixteen young musicians worldwide to participate.
Along with his performing career, Gabe is also a committed educator and composer. He is currently an adjunct instructor in violin and guitar at NYU, and has taught both privately and in both large and small groups for many years. He has worked for organizations including Tufts Community Music, Maine Jazz Camp, and The Genius Hive School (Accra, Ghana). His compositions have been featured on albums produced by the Steeplechase and OC Remix labels, and his first album of original music is scheduled for release in 2018. Gabe is currently a graduate student at the NYU Steinhardt School, where he is majoring in jazz performance. He completed the Double-Degree program at Tufts University/ The New England Conservatory of Music in 2016, majoring in Peace and Justice Studies and Jazz Violin Performance. During his time
at both NEC and NYU, he has studied with teachers including John Scofield, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart, Ari Hoenig, Mat Maneri, Tanya Kalmanovitch, Jason Moran, Brad Shepik, and Frank Carlberg.