Gilad Hekselman
“Ask for Chaos”
Motéma Music
It has a decidedly
odd title and only lasts a few seconds, but “prologu00001101” — the wonderfully
crazy opening track from guitarist Gilad Hekselman’s newly
released “Ask For Chaos” — lets you know in no uncertain terms that this will
not be a run-of-the-mill jazz album. Hekselman has
collaborated with Christian McBride, Anat Cohen, Jeff
“Tain” Watts, and others since arriving from Israel
in 2004. Here, Hekselman has created a futuristic
masterwork. The album contains a rich amount of masterfully employed electronics,
enhancing the textures and shapes of the tunes.
Hekselman recorded the CD with two of his ensembles.
In ZuperOctave, Aaron Parks is wildly adventurous
every time he takes off on piano, synthesizer, or Fender Rhodes, while Kush Abadey keeps everything anchored on the drums. Meanwhile, Hekeselman’sgHex Trio features
the superb, if somewhat more traditional playing of bassist Rick Rosato and drummer Jonathan Pinson. Hekselman’s
performance is fantastic throughout, and the album leaves no doubt about his
compositional prowess. Excellent originals range from the urgent (“VBlues”), the impressionistic (“Stumble”), and the simply
beautiful (“Do Re Mi Fa Sol”).
This article appears in Sep 26 – Oct 2, 2018.
