Golden Age, Nir Felder’s major label debut to be released in the UK on 27 January, finds the guitarist with pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman, also from the band James Farm, and drummer Nate Smith known for his work as a member of Chris Potter’s Underground band, on an album of 10 of Felder’s own compositions that in the mix also includes spoken word extracts from speeches by a range of diverse figures including Nobel peace prize winner Elie Wiesel, former governor of New York Mario Cuomo, civil rights activist Malcolm X, and the disgraced US president Richard Nixon.

A Berklee graduate who grew up in Katonah, New York, and who was influenced by the music of John Scofield and Medeski, Martin & Wood while starting out, Felder’s sideman work has included gigging with Greg Osby, Meshell Ndegeocello and Chuck Mangione. Tracks are: ‘Lights’, ‘Bandits’, ‘Ernest / Protector’, ‘Sketch 2’, ‘Code’, ‘Memorial’, ‘Lover’, ‘Bandits II’, ‘Slower Machinery’, and ‘Before the Tsars’. Listen to Golden Age opener ‘Lights’  here: