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Nir Felder

Golden Age

Sony Masterworks | OKeh

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Nir Felder - Slower Machinery (from "Golden Age")
Rig Rundown: Nir Felder and Will Lee
Nir Felder - Guitar Power
Nir Felder Talks with NY1 / Golden Age release party@Le Poisson Rouge
Nir Felder plays the Supro Island Series Hampton Baritone in Djent Black
Nir Felder Talks Improvisation | Wong Notes Podcast
1 Lights
2 Bandits
3 Ernest / Protector
4 Sketch 2
5 Code
6 Memorial
7 Lover
8 Bandits II
9 Slower Machinery
10 Before the Tsars
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For guitarist Nir Felder, the song's the thing. His debut album Golden Age (OKeh), out January 21, puts his skills as a composer and songwriter at the forefront of his creative design, supported by virtuosic technique, not the other way around.

The guitarist recruited pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Nate Smith to help bring his unique musical vision to life.  "They are musicians who understand the bigger picture of a song, and approach a song as a song, not just as a vehicle to express their own virtuosity," explains Felder.

The album, as a whole, was not born of a concept, Felder notes. But the title does provide a unifying sentiment-one of ambiguity and duality. "The album is called Golden Age, and it's more of a question than a statement," he says. "We've seen a lot of change in recent years-in the music industry, in music technology, in our world, our country, and our city, New York. When I was writing this music, there was a lot of hope in the air, and excitement about change, but also a lot of insecurity and fear about the world post-2008 economic crisis. It looks bad for the arts in New York City at the moment, and some people are nostalgic for the 1980s and early '90s, when times were rough and unsafe but art and culture were flourishing. Was that a ‘golden age'? Is this one? Has there really ever been one? The question is always, according to whom? So, there is a lack of clarity about whether things are going great or they're really bad, and the music reflects that." 

To augment the band's instrumental take on those questions, Felder studied dozens of legendary speeches by politicians, civil rights leaders, and cultural heroes and mixed spoken-word samples from Mario Cuomo, Barbara Jordan, Jesse Jackson, Hilary Clinton, Malcolm X, Richard Nixon, Lou Gehrig, Elie Wiesel, William Jennings Bryan, Russell Conwell, and others into "Lights" and "Sketch." The results are sweeping, cinematic impressions of history brought into the present moment.

Felder, a native of Katonah, New York, began playing guitar at 13. In the beginning, it was the blues that drew him to jazz: Albert King, Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan-three masters of tone, with an exciting sound and the tradition of storytelling in their playing. Felder initially bought a $250 Mexican Stratocaster and put heavy strings on it "like Stevie Ray did." He has played it ever since. Except for the acoustic guitar on "Bandits II," that Strat is the only guitar on Golden Age. 

  • Nir Felder talks improvisation on 'Wong Notes Podcast' / Premier Guitar
    Posted At: December 15, 2022
    Called "the next big jazz guitarist" by NPR, Nir Felder has become a highly sought-after musician as both a solo artist and sideman. Equally adept across a wide range of genres, inspired by icons from John Coltrane to voodoo chile Jimi Hendrix, Felder has forged a unique and highly recognizable sound. He is a member of Band of Other Brothers (Jeff Coffin, Jeff Babko, Will Lee, and Keith Carlock) and has per...

  • Nir Felder and Will Lee / Premier Guitar - Rig Rundown
    Posted At: April 28, 2022
    For the Band of Other Brothers, this dynamic duo carries a light load.Premier Guitar's John Bohlinger writes…Nir Felder has been called “the next big jazz guitarist” by NPR and hailed by The New York Times as a “whiz kid.” Will Lee is the Grammy-winning Musician’s Hall of Fame member you’ve likely seen and heard playing bass as part of Paul Shaffer’s World’s Most Dangerous Band on David Letterman’s late-nig...

  • Nir Felder's improvised fingerings / PREMIER Guitar podcast
    Posted At: July 15, 2020

    Called "the next big jazz guitarist" by NPR in 2010, Nir Felder has become a highly sought-after musician as both a solo artist and sideman. Equally adept across a wide range of genres, inspired by icons from John Coltrane to voodoo chile Jimi Hendrix, Felder has forged a unique and highly recognizable sound. He is a member of Band of Other Brothers (Jeff Coffin, Jeff Babko, Will Lee, and Keith Carlock) ...

  • Nir Felder and Dweezil Zappa discuss improvisation & insight on D'Addario - Guitar Power
    Posted At: December 1, 2018

    Called "the next big jazz guitarist" by NPR, Nir Felder is a new voice in instrumental music. Equally adept across a wide range of genres, inspired by icons from John Coltrane to voodoo chile Jimi Hendrix, Felder has forged a unique and highly recognizable sound at a young age and quickly become one of New York City's most highly sought after musicians as both a solo artist and as a sideman. He has perfo...

  • Everyone Loves Guitar. Nir Felder on 'TheGearPage'
    Posted At: June 28, 2018

    p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} Called "the next big jazz guitarist" by NPR, Nir Felder is a new voice in instrumental music. Equally adept across a wide range of genres, inspired by icons from John Coltrane to voodoo chile Jimi Hendrix, Felder has forged a unique and highly recognizable sound at a young age and quickly become one of New York City'...

  • Nir Felder interview with Time Out Hong Kong
    Posted At: July 2, 2015

    In an era of music dominated by viral YouTube sensations and a revolving door of here-today-gone-tomorrow pop starlets, jazz feels ever more niche. But even if the days of multi-platinum albums like Miles Davis' Kind of Blue are long gone, new generations continue to keep the faith. One of the current scene's most notable performers is Nir Felder. An award-winning music student – he w...

  • Nir Felder set to play - Seattle's 'Jazz Alley' / Jazz After Hours
    Posted At: March 7, 2015

    Called "the next big jazz guitarist" by NPR, hailed by the New York Times as a "whiz kid", and dubbed "incredible" by the Montreal Gazette, Nir Felder is a new voice in jazz guitar. Set to play Jazz Alley in Seattle on Monday March 16, Jazz After Hours is Featuring. Growing up in the New York City suburbs, Felder spent his youth playing in rock bands while learning about jazz at the local record stor...

  • HuffPost - Chat with Nir Felder
    Posted At: February 27, 2015

    From Mike Ragogna's interview with Nir Felder MR:  Let's talk about all things Golden Age, where historic speeches actually played a part in its creative process. Was the concept of Golden Age planned out or was it something that happened as it evolved? Nir Felder: I didn't really plan out the album from front to back as I was writing the music. But it was lik...

  • Nir Felder Quartet at Dizzy's San Diego / NBC7 review
    Posted At: June 16, 2014

    A select number of San Diego jazz fans opted to attend the June 10 performance of the Nir Felder Quartet at Dizzy's – a shame, really, because Felder favorably represents the next wave of jazz guitar – post-Frisell, Metheny, and Rosenwinkel. READ THE FULL NBC7San Diego REVIEW  ...

  • Nir Felder - Golden Age / JazzTimes review
    Posted At: March 27, 2014

    Nir Felder: Putting Musical Storytelling Ahead of Chops The 30-year-old guitarist talks like he plays, stacking rhythmic phrases that have a way of whirling back to where they began. Felder's recently released debut album, Golden Age (OKeh), moves in similar fashion. The first track opens with a sample of Bill Clinton saying, "Thank you very much"-a greeting or a farewell? Is this the beginning o...

  • Nir Felder - Golden Age / Chartbound@Jazzweek
    Posted At: February 6, 2014

    For guitarist Nir Felder, the song's the thing. His debut album Golden Age on Sony/OKeh puts his skills as a composer and songwriter at the forefront of his creative design, supported by virtuosic technique, not the other way around. The guitarist recruited pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Nate Smith to help bring his unique musical vision to life, and Golden A...

  • Nir Felder: Golden Age / Los Angeles Times: Pop & Hiss REVIEW.
    Posted At: January 20, 2014

    Can a jazz guitarist grow up idolizing Stevie Ray Vaughan? That may be a question for the purists in considering "Golden Age," the debut album from Nir Felder, who took up guitar at age 13 and still plays the $250 Stratocaster he bought with the blues-rock legend in mind. READ THE FULL Los Angeles Times: Pop & Hiss REVIEW.    ...

  • The New York Times | Press Play: Now streaming Nir Felder's Golden Age
    Posted At: January 17, 2014

    The New York Times: Press Play  is now running the album stream from Guitarist / Composer Nir Felder's January 21 Sony/OKeh release: Golden Age. This is Felder's solo debut and for him, the song's the thing.  Pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Nate Smith help bring this unique album to life. Felder responded to his choice of players by saying:&n...
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