Alan Braufman Prepares New Album ‘Anthem for Peace’

Alan Braufman will release a new album titled Anthem for Peace. It arrives on the heels of two recent full-lengths that extended a late chapter in his career, one that began its current shape after the 2018 reissue of his 1975 loft-jazz document Valley of Search.

The saxophonist and flutist reconvenes the quartet from last year’s Infinite Love Infinite Tears, keeping vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and drummer Chad Taylor, and adding bassist Luke Stewart. Braufman has described the group as one that homes in on a bright, melodic language across the album’s seven pieces.

Opener “Angels” starts as a waltz before shifting into free territory. Braufman’s alto and Brennan’s vibraphone lines twist around each other, and the piece eventually spotlights a solo of fast mallet work from Brennan. “The Journey” leans on Taylor’s drumming, with Braufman and Brennan trading hooks over a rock-oriented pulse. On the title track, Braufman plays flute, threading a set of melodies through the ensemble’s rhythm section.

The record draws directly from the cooperative spirit of his early days at 501 Canal Street in SoHo, where he and other musicians lived and worked in a makeshift hub that helped define a specific spiritual-jazz template. Braufman’s playing since the reissue has included appearances with James Brandon Lewis and ongoing partnerships with old associates like Cooper-Moore. Anthem for Peace signals he’s still drawing from that same source, decades later.