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Die Gitarre als Piano gedacht. Auf die Frage hin, welche Musiker ihn in seinem Werdegang und Schaffen als Gitarrist beeinflusst haben, nennt Hekselman nahezu ausschließlich Pianisten: Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Brad Mehldau. Nicht zuletzt deshalb sind seine Stilistik und Phrasierung unverwechselbar, seine Kompositionen und Arrangements von Klarheit und Transparenz geprägt und ganz auf die Geltung der Band als Gesamtkunstwerk aus, statt ausschließlich ihn selbst als Solisten in den Vordergrund zu stellen. Mit gerechtfertigter Bewunderung spricht Hekselman über seine drei Bandkollegen, die einander in harmonischem Zusammenspiel hervorragend ergänzen und die oft hochkomplizierten Arrangements mit Perfektion und spielerischer Leichtigkeit meistern. (Pressetext)
Eine Zusammenarbeit mit dem Inntöne-Festival

The young Israeli guitarist with the burgeoning rep works the fluid side of the street; his runs continuously spill into one another, and their flow gives his bands all sorts of extra momentum. But he likes things to have a fierce side, too. There's rarely a solo that emerges without a bit of exclamation. Words Unspoken proved he has a knack for connecting with strong tenor players. Tonight's gig finds the wonderfully idiosyncratic Mark Turner at Hekselman's side. Killer rhythm section, too. (The Village Voice)
Since his arrival to New York in 2004, Gilad Hekselman has been earning a reputation as one of the most promising guitarists in New York. In only four years this native Israeli has shared the stage with many top names from the New York jazz scene including Chris Potter, Mark Turner, John Scofield, Anat Cohen, Sam Yahel, Jeff Ballard, Gretchen Parlato, Avishai E. Cohen, Jeff 'Tain' Watts, Ari Hoenig, Tigran Hamasyan, Aaron Parks, Greg Hutchinson, Reuben Rogers, François Moutin and Eric McPhearson. He has played the Blue Note, The Jazz Gallery, Smalls, 55 Bar, Dizzy's Club, Minton's Playhouse, and toured in Switzerland, Japan, Scotland, Canada, Norway, Hungary, and Israel. He has also played in world famous Jazz festivals such as Montreux JF, Duke Ellington JF, San Francisco JF and Tel Aviv JF.

Gilad is the Winner of the 2005 Gibson Montreux International Guitar Competition. A string of performance dates followed that achievement in 2006, highlighted by the Gibson Les Paul guitar he received from Claude Nobs: he opened for guitar legend Paco De Lucia at the Montreux Jazz Festival, performed at the IAJE conference in New York, at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola - Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Gilad's debut album SplitLife released by Smalls Records in the summer of 2006 and featuring bassist Joe Martin and drummer Ari Hoenig, received rave reviews from the press. In June 2008, Gilad's second album Words Unspoken was released by LateSet Records. The album, featuring bassist Joe Martin, drummer Marcus Gilmore and tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, has already started getting attention by the press and by the jazz community. This year, Gilad will take part in a CD by Walt Disney Records called Disney Jazz. His music will be presented among pieces performed by artists such as Dave Brubeck, Joshua Redman, Diane Reeves, Roy Hargrove, and many other jazz legends.

Born in Israel in 1983, Gilad studied classical piano from age six to nine before going on to guitar and from age 12 to 14 he was performing regularly with the band of a weekly children's television show. At 15 he entered the Thelma Yellin School of Arts, graduating with Excellence from the Jazz Department at 18.

Gilad is a recipient of the America Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship for his previous studies abroad. (Pressetext)