Considering the astonishing fluency of his improvising, pure tone, Pat Metheny-inflected composing muse and partnerships with a raft of New York jazz aristocrats (including Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Esperanza Spalding and Ari Hoenig), it's perhaps surprising that the Israeli-born guitarist Gilad Hekselman's international reputation isn't bigger. Far Star, his all-original lockdown project and his debut for Edition Records, might change that, though not necessarily for a core jazz audience.

At the start of 2020, following a prolific period of composition, the guitarist had a raft of new material, and was ready to assemble a lineup to play it - but the pandemic arrived. So that music became this freewheeling home-studio adventure instead, with Hekselman's multi-instrumentalism creating the building blocks, subsequently embroidered by Israeli jazz stars Shai Maestro and Ziv Ravitz, American drummer Eric Harland, and more. A cinematic quality is immediately established in the opening 'Long Way From Home', referencing both Morricone and Metheny territory in its casually-whistled theme, and seductively rolling, open-spaces melody. 'Fast-moving Century' is a bustling clamour of piano hooks, percussion and synths; the title track is a wistfully lyrical dreamwalk, while 'Magic Chord' and the lilting 'Cycles' show how elegantly the leader balances guitar virtuosity and songwriting shapeliness. The clappy, cannily grooving 'The Headrocker' has a DJ's feel for earworm grooves, as Israeli drummer/producers Nomok – aka Noam Havkin – and Amir Bresler join the mix.

A smooth-jazz vibe sometimes purrs in, but there's more than enough variety in Far Star to confirm that Gilad Hekselman's musicianship runs much wider than his remarkable guitar talents alone.