Home » Jazz Musicians » Hillai Govreen

Hillai Govreen

Hillai Govreen is a clarinetist, saxophonist and composer based in New York. Hillai’s upcoming album Every Other Now is a collaboration with bassist/composer Ben Meigners, and features some notable names of the NY music scene such as Steve Cardenas (guitar), Eric McPherson (drums), Café Da Silva (percussion) among others. The album is set to be released in August 2025 under the Fresh Sound label.

Her previous album “Allusions” (2021) is a duet with pianist Nitsan Kolko. Their duet feature spontaneous musical dialogue and alludes to various ancient fables. In addition, Hillai arranged music for a nonet consisting of strings and woodwinds.

Hillai Govreen has collaborated with a wide range of international musicians, including George Cables, Allison Miller, Arturo O’Farrill, Eric McPherson, Anat Cohen, George Colligan, Steve Cardenas and Harold Rubin. She has toured across India, Europe, Israel, and the U.S. and has performed at notable New York venues such as Dizzy’s Club, The Jazz Gallery, Smalls, Mezzrow, Birdland, National Sawdust, and Ornithology. Hillai is an endorsing artist for P. Mauriat clarinets and saxophones.

Graduated with honors from The New School for Jazz and contemporary music in 2020, Studied with Anat Cohen, Chris Cheek, Tony Malaby, Billy Harper, Steve Cardenas, Reggie Workman and others.

Born and raised in Israel her love for music was triggered at an early age. She started playing classical piano at the age of 6 and when she was 12 she picked up the clarinet and studied under Professor Michael Gurfinkel.

Throughout high school she was awarded musical scholarships from the American Israel cultural foundation 4 years in a row and played first clarinet in the young Israeli philharmonic orchestra. She was awarded “outstanding musician” and was accepted with a full scholarship to study at the “Barenboim Saiid” academy in Berlin.

Hillai Govreen, Béla Fleck, Eva Novoa, Nicole McCabe & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
May 10, 2024

Creative takes on Django Reinhardt and George Gershwin open a show which then spotlights three emerging and compelling musicians: Hillai Govreen, Nicole McCabe and Eva Novoa.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Edouard Pennes “Swing 48" Génération Django (Artwork) 0:16 Host talks 3:33 Béla Fleck “Rhapsody in Blue(grass)" Rhapsody in Blue (Thirty Tigers) 5:13 Host talks 17:18 Nicole McCabe “Times Apart" Mosaic (Ghost Note) 18:49 Eva Novoa “Sushi at ...

“This project is a bold and emotionally rich journey that pushes beyond conventional jazz. The album blends spontaneous improvisation with meticulously crafted compositions, creating a unique sonic palette inspired by New York’s jazz scene.” -IsraBox- 2025

”The album explores themes of memory, nostalgia, the fluidity of time, loss, and introspection, and beautifully captures the raw emotional expression that only a live studio recording can offer” -Musica Terra- 2025

“Hillai’s sumptuously crafted new album opens on the simply gorgeous Abarxas and then we get the fluid Lost and Found, the playfully flirtatious The Day Of and the self-assured The Day After. This immerse soundscape continues onward with the ornately hued Downhill and the wistful Something Short which are in turn backed seamlessly by the melodiously free flowing This Nearly Was Mine, the set rounding out on the rhythmically soulful Ill Wind, closing on the fervently bountiful Smoke.” -Anne Carlini- 2025