Gilad Hekselman

Live at the Village Vanguard

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Imagine this. You are one of the acknowledged top guitarists in jazz having spent nearly the past two decades on the NYC jazz scene. Not only have you dreamed of playing in jazz’s most hallowed venue, The Village Vanguard, for a weeklong residency, but your wife is due with your second born the same week. That confluence of events did indeed occur for Gilad Hekselman during the last week of March 2022. Not only was he going to be performing his own music at the Vanguard, but the venue had given him permission to record the performances for three nights. Shortly after inking this agreement, the guitarist and his wife found out she was pregnant and expecting that same week. So, as the story goes, the run began with two sold out evenings and recording began on the third night and into the fourth, after which his wife went into labor. They prepared for the birth at home with a midwife and less than two hours before the guitarist was due onstage for his fifth show, his wife delivered their baby girl.

With everyone safe and resting, and with his wife’s approval, Hekselman rushed to the gig, arriving to a giant ovation from the crowd who had been alerted to what was happening. On the unedited recording of the moment, you can hear the beaming guitarist, saying to his band, “I just want to make music now.”  Although we’re not sure how many of these tracks are culled from that fifth night with the guitarist gushing with elation, he is so fortunate to have a musical document of one of the best weeks of his life. He says this, “For me, this record is an auditory keepsake from my daughter’s birth. It captures a very special moment for our family. To release it was important, in the same way that framing a beautiful picture of your family is.”

 The Israeli-born Hekselman, leads an elite quartet, with pianist Shai Maestro and drummer Eric Harland from the guitarist’s stellar 2002 Far Star (Edition) along with esteemed bassist Larry Grenadier. The guitarist is already in the same conversation with Kurt Rosenwinkel and Pat Matheny in terms of his crystalline, warm tone, clear articulation, and far-ranging improvisational ideas. This marks his eleventh album as a leader, and many of the greats of comparable ilk as these three have graced his albums. (Only the best gets a week-long residency at The Village Vanguard). Two of the tracks are from Far Star, with a cover of John Coltrane’s “Equinox” and Matt Dennis’ “Everything Happens to Me.” The other two are originals.

Those who have been to the Village Vanguard know that it’s a tiny room with a deeply respectful audience.  Yet, the sound clarity here is immaculate beyond compare. Often, there’s not a peep from the audience until the piece. We’re not sure why the 30 second Intro was left in; it almost seems like a false start before we hear “Rebirth,” a pensive piece with resonating pillowy notes from his guitar cushioned by strummed bass and delicate comping from Maestro. Harland thrives well in these ethereal and spiritual settings, having long played with Charles Lloyd and with Pat Metheny as well. As such he is adept at building momentum or shifting into lower gears. Listen to how this piece gathers energy, only to dissipate into Maestro’s shimming piano around the five-and half-minute mark. Single notes from Hekselman seem to just linger in the air, interrupted by audience applause and some joviality. Coltrane’s “Equinox” begins a little tentatively, and soon becomes deliberate.  Freely expressed passages follow before fiery exchanges ensue two thirds in. Spurred on by the audience, Maestro takes an energetic solo, passing the baton to Grenadier and Harland before Hekselman steps back in to calmly resolve the piece, in all a study in brilliant quartet execution.

Hekselman takes an unaccompanied two-minute intro into “Far Star,” another piece that builds slowly in unhurried fashion as the theme is established before blossoming into a rollicking burner, with the guitarist reprising the initial theme to take it out. “The Headrocker,” also from Far Star lives up to its title, riding a bluesy riff and throwing off sparks, a rarity as a rocker in this mostly famed acoustic venue. Maestro shines here, totally in synch with the spirit of the piece. The abrupt ending is a surprise, and calmer waters requisitely follow with “Deep Blue” where Hekselman is back to his trademark ethereal, ringing single echoing notes with room for robust expression from Grenadier. An explosive middle section follows which surrenders again to quieter, sublime exchanges between the guitar and piano as the bass and drums serve to decelerate the quartet into a whispering finale, segueing directly without audience interruption into the jagged, rhythmically intricate standout “Urban Myth,” the most combustible piece of all with all quartet members firing on all cylinders. Hekselman’s soloing in the latter half sounds like a horn player, alternating short bursts with soaring lines, rousing in every way. There’s little choice but to ratchet down after that one, and “Everything Happens to Me” is a microcosm of the entire set, stretching from the atmospheric into volcanic within the same piece.

Aside from many similarities in the patterns of the pieces, the dynamics are ultimately captivating. At one moment delicate while fiercely charging at others, this is an excellent live recording, destined for multiple repeat listens. Hats off to the new dad!

Jim Hynes

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