Alan Michael Braufman

Braufman graduated from Boston's Berklee College of Music where he met Cooper-Moore (then Gene Ashton) and other musicians, including David S. Ware, Chris Amberger, and Marc Edwards,{{Cite web|title=About|url=https://www.alanbraufman.com/about|access-date=2021-10-20|website=Alan Braufman|language=en-US}} with whom he moved to New York City in 1973 and (minus Edwards) occupied a vacant building at 501 Canal Street in lower Manhattan.{{cite web|url=http://www.nycjazzrecord.com/issues/tnycjr201602.pdf|title=The New York City Jazz Record|website=Nycjazzrecord.com|accessdate=22 December 2020}} The building, where the total rent came to $140 for four floors,{{Cite web|url=https://www.thewire.co.uk/audio/tracks/hear-alan-braufman-s-valley-of-search|title=Hear Alan Braufman's Valley Of Search - The Wire|website=Thewire.co.uk|accessdate=22 December 2020}} became a hub for musicians to practice and perform and its occupants played a seminal role in New York City's early-seventies loft jazz scene.{{cite book |last=Heller |first=Michael C. |date=2017 |title=Loft Jazz: Improvising New York in the 1970s |location=Oakland, CA |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520285415 }} In 1974, Village Voice jazz critic Gary Giddins wrote a review of Braufman's performance called "Taking Chances At 501 Canal," stating “The fact is, these are the musicians who are taking the chances today and their gifts and commitment ought to be attended.”{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bdpHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CowDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6323,5835012|title=The Village Voice - Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com}}

In 1975, Braufman's debut album Valley of Search was released on the India Navigation record label. The album was recorded live in the performance space at 501 Canal Street by Bob Cummins, the owner of India Navigation and was the label's second release.{{cite web|title=India Navigation Records List|url=http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Labels/indianav.htm|website=www.jazzdiscography.com}} Cooper-Moore (who made his recorded debut on the album{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/arts/music/playlist-paul-mccartney-nine-inch-nails-juice-wrld-a-boogie.html|title=The Playlist: Paul McCartney's Smooth Tunes, and 13 More New Songs (Published 2018)|first1=Jon|last1=Pareles|first2=Jon|last2=Caramanica|first3=Giovanni|last3=Russonello|date=22 June 2018|accessdate=22 December 2020|website=The New York Times}}), Cecil McBee, David Lee and Ralph Williams performed as Braufman's band.{{cite web|title=Valley of Search - Alan Braufman - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/valley-of-search-mw0001691635|website=AllMusic}}

On June 29, 2018, a remastered version of Valley of Search was reissued on vinyl and digital formats. The reissue is a project of Braufman and his nephew, Nabil Ayers.{{cite web|url=https://blog.discogs.com/en/alan-braufman-valley-of-search-reissue/|title=How I Reissued My Uncle's 1975 Free Jazz Album|website=Discogs|date=9 July 2018}} To celebrate the reissue, Braufman performed music from Valley of Search in a string of New York shows in August 2018.{{cite web|url=https://nationalsawdust.org/event/alan-braufman/|title=Alan Braufman – National Sawdust|website=nationalsawdust.org}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsounds.org/story/cult-valley-search-reissue-show-alan-braufman-and-cooper-moore/|title=Cult 'Valley of Search' Reissue Show with Alan Braufman and Cooper-Moore | New Sounds Live | New Sounds|website=Newsounds.org|accessdate=22 December 2020}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thegreenespace.org/events/thegreenespace/2018/aug/01/alan-braufman-performs-valley-search-special-guest-cooper-moore/|title=Alan Braufman performs "Valley of Search" with special guest Cooper-Moore|access-date=2018-06-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625075256/http://www.thegreenespace.org/events/thegreenespace/2018/aug/01/alan-braufman-performs-valley-search-special-guest-cooper-moore/|archive-date=2018-06-25|url-status=dead}} Valley of Search was reissued on CD in 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://alanbraufman.bandcamp.com/album/valley-of-search-reissue|title = Valley of Search (Reissue), by Alan Braufman}}

In 2019, master tapes were unearthed of a recording with Alan Braufman and Cooper-Moore performing as a duo live on Columbia University's radio station, WKCR on May 22, 1972, just two years before Valley of Search was recorded.{{Cite web|title=Alan Braufman & Cooper-Moore - Lost 1972 recordings found|url=https://www.valleyofsearch.com/home/2020/5/28/alan-braufman-amp-cooper-moore-lost-1972-recordings-found|access-date=2021-10-20|website=Valley of Search - a record label|date=3 September 2019 |language=en-US}} In September 2019, Live at WKCR May 22, 1972 was released on digital platforms, followed by a limited-edition vinyl pressing, and as bonus material on the Valley of Search CD reissue.{{Cite web|title=Live at WKCR May 22, 1972, by Alan Braufman & Cooper-Moore|url=https://alanbraufman.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-wkcr-may-22-1972|access-date=2021-10-20|website=Alan Braufman|language=en}}

In January, 2022, Braufman announced Live in New York City, February 8, 1975. The 94-minute live album features William Parker, Cooper-Moore, Ralph Williams, Jim Schapperoew, John Clark, and new liner notes from the host, Susan Mannheimer. The album will be released on triple LP, double CD, and digital formats.{{cite web |title=Live in New York City, February 8, 1975, by Alan Braufman |url=https://alanbraufman.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-new-york-city-february-8-1975 |website=Alan Braufman |language=en}}

In September 2019, Alan Braufman and Cooper-Moore performed at the Basilica Soundscape Festival in Hudson, NY, and announced plans to record a new album together with a full band.{{Cite web|url=https://basilicahudson.org/soundscape/|title=Basilica SoundScape 2019|website=Basilica Hudson|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-23}} The new album, The Fire Still Burns was released on August 28, 2020, on the Valley of Search label.{{Cite web |url=https://twitter.com/gillespeterson/status/1274383316985274371 |title=Gilles Peterson on Twitter |access-date=2020-06-22 |archive-date=2020-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620165339/https://twitter.com/gillespeterson/status/1274383316985274371 |url-status=dead }} The Fire Still Burns includes Cooper-Moore on piano, James Brandon Lewis on tenor saxophone, Ken Filiano on bass, Andrew Drury on drums and Michael Wimberly on percussion.{{Cite web |url=https://alanbraufman.bandcamp.com/album/the-fire-still-burns |title=The Fire Still Burns {{!}} Alan Braufman |access-date=2020-06-22 |archive-date=2020-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625021310/https://alanbraufman.bandcamp.com/album/the-fire-still-burns |url-status=dead }} The album was recorded at The National's Long Pond Studio in upstate New York.{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/alan-braufman-announces-new-album-shares-new-song-sunrise-listen/|title=Alan Braufman Announces New Album, Shares New Song "Sunrise"|first=Allison|last=Hussey|website=Pitchfork.com|date=22 June 2020|accessdate=22 December 2020}} The release received worldwide acclaim from Pitchfork, The WIRE, DownBeat,{{cite web |title='The Fire Still Burns' review |url=https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=285766189511173 |website=DownBeat Magazine |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Premiere: Alan Braufman's The Fire Still Burns - The Wire |url=https://www.thewire.co.uk/audio/tracks/premiere-alan-braufman-s-the-fire-still-burns |website=The Wire Magazine |access-date=18 January 2022 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Alan Braufman: The Fire Still Burns: Pitchfork Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/alan-braufman-the-fire-still-burns/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=18 January 2022 |language=en}} Rolling Stone, who said "In 2020, we need the meditative focus and impassioned intensity of an artist like Alan Braufman more than ever,"{{cite magazine |last1=Shteamer |first1=Hank |title=Seventies Jazz Survivor Alan Braufman Shows His Fire Still Burns on 'Home' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/alan-braufman-jazz-fire-still-burns-home-1039885/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=6 August 2020}} and BBC DJ Gilles Peterson, who called Braufman, "A legend in free music."{{cite episode |title=2019-12-14 |series=Gilles Peterson Worldwide |network=BBC Radio |date=14 December 2019}}

In January 2021, The Chicago composer and clarinetist Angel Bat Dawid remixed the song "Sunrise," which the New York Times described as "another indication of what it means to stay engaged decades on, bringing the tradition ahead."{{cite web |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |last2=Russonello |first2=Giovanni |last3=Zoladz |first3=Lindsay |title=Cardi B's Gleefully Relentless 'Up,' and 12 More New Songs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/arts/music/playlist-cardi-b-sia-vic-mensa.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=18 January 2022 |date=5 February 2021}}

In March, 2024, Braufman announced the new album, Infinite Love Infinite Tears , for May 17, 2024 release. The album features Patricia Brennan on vibes, James Brandon Lewis on tenor saxophone, Ken Filiano on bass, Chad Taylor on drums, and Michael Wimberly on percussion.{{cite web | url=https://www.stereogum.com/2254712/free-jazz-veteran-alan-braufman-announces-new-album-infinite-love-infinite-tears/music/ | title=Free Jazz Veteran Alan Braufman Announces New Album 'Infinite Love Infinite Tears' | date=6 March 2024 }} Like 2020's "The Fire Still Burns," the album was produced by Braufman's nephew, Nabil Ayers, and released by Ayers' label, Valley of Search.https://twitter.com/nabilayers/status/1765342858775601464 Downbeat Magazine said in a 4-star review, “Like his free jazz predecessors, Coltrane, Cherry and Coleman, Braufman finds spirituality in every note.”{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date=April 2024 |title= Reviews|url=https://archive.maherpublications.com/view/300741494/47/#zoom=true |magazine=Downbeat Magazine |location= |publisher= |access-date=}} London's MOJO magazine said, “Braufman’s spiraling, uplifting compositions occupy an evolving space where jazz’s past and future collide.”{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date=16 April 2024 |title= Reviews|url=https://gb.readly.com/magazines/mojo/2024-04-16 |magazine=MOJO Magazine |location= |publisher= |access-date=}} NPR called the song "Brooklyn", "playfully light yet texturally dense."https://www.npr.org/2024/04/15/1244466419/8-tracks-thursday-nia-archives-bbymutha-daniel-bachman

In the 1970s and 1980s, Braufman spent his time touring as a saxophonist with Carla Bley, The Psychedelic Furs and Philip Glass. Braufman later dropped his last name and began to record and perform as Alan Michael.

In 1988, he released the album Lost In Asia on the Passport Jazz label. The album included performances by Bill Frisell and Sid McGinnis as well as a cover of the Psychedelic Furs song "Sister Europe. In 1995, he released the album As Daylight Fades, on which Omar Hakim played drums.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/as-daylight-fades-mw0001067859|title=As Daylight Fades - Alan Michael - User Reviews - AllMusic|website=AllMusic}}

He currently lives in Salt Lake City, UT where he performs regularly, and is now a teacher of many students learning to play the saxophone. In 2016, the Alan Michael Band was nominated for Best Jazz Artist by the Salt Lake City Weekly.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityweekly.net/utah/alan-michael-band/Content?oid=3153953|title=Alan Michael Band|website=Salt Lake City Weekly|accessdate=22 December 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cityweekly.net/utah/best-of-utah-music-2016/Content?oid=3194838|title=Best of Utah Music 2016|first=Randy Harward, Kimball Bennion, Westin Porter, Gavin Sheehan, Brian|last=Staker}}

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Category:1951 births

Category:Living people

Category:American jazz saxophonists

Category:American jazz flautists

Category:American jazz composers