Gilad Hekselman has been developing a reputation as one of the most promising guitarists in New York since his arrival in 2004. After only a few years this native Israeli has shared the stage with some of the greatest artists in the New York City jazz scene including Chris Potter, Eric Harland, Mark Turner, Anat Cohen, Ari Hoenig, Esperanza Spalding, Christian McBride, Jeff Ballard, Ben Wendel, Gretchen Parlato, Avishai Cohen, Jeff 'Tain' Watts, Tigran Hamasyan, Aaron Parks, Becca Stevens, John Scofield, Terri Lyne Carrington, Danilo Perez & Peter Bernstein among many others.
Ask For Chaos, Gilad's next album, is scheduled to be released on Sep 7th, 2018 on his new label, Hexophonic Music, in collaboration with Motema Music label. It features both his new working bands: The first is ZuperOctave (feat. Aaron Parks on piano and keys and Kush Abadey on drums). This bass-less band is exploring electronics with the goal of still keeping the music organic and flexible. The other is the gHex Trio (feat. Rick Rosato on bass & Jonathan Pinson on drums), continuing the classic guitar trio sound that Gilad has become known for, but also bringing something fresh to the music.
Gilad has played all major jazz clubs in New York City including the Blue Note, The Jazz Standard, Dizzy's Club and Smalls. He is constantly touring world-wide and has played most noteworthy jazz festivals including Montreux (Sui), North Sea (Ned), Montreal (Can) & San Francisco (USA).
In 2017, Gilad was placed 1st in the Rising Star category of Downbeat Magazine. That same year, he won the 7 VIrtual Jazz Club international competition 2017. In 2018 Gilad was asked by guitar legend Pat Metheny to perform at his NEA Award ceremony at Kennedy Center, alongside some of Metheny's favorite young guitar players.