TUE, OCT 13
Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Alan Braufman Quintet!Alan Braufman - Alto Saxophone and FluteChase Baird - Tenor SaxophoneStefan Gonzalez - VibraphoneMathew Frerck - BassJoshua Canate - DrumsFor decades, alto saxophonist and flutist Alan Braufman was a cult musician whosethen-lone LP as a bandleader, 1975’s Valley of Search, offered rich, evocative, andforthright sonic documentation of a lower Manhattan jazz scene slightly afield from theSoHo and Lower East Side hubbub. Following the enthusiastically-received reissue ofthat record forty-three years later, Braufman, who never stopped playing or writingmusic, has marked several years of greater visibility with a string of consistently warmand intense small-group recordings (and a few previously-unissued archival discs) thatfeature a mix of peers and younger firebrands from the contemporary Americanimprovisation scene.A necessity for this time period, the aptly-titled Anthem for Peace sees Braufman in aquartet setting, joining forces with vibraphonist Patricia Brennan anddrummer/percussionist Chad Taylor, both of whom are returning from 2024’s InfiniteLove Infinite Tears, and bassist Luke Stewart, a familiar player marking his firstcollaboration with the saxophonist. One cut, the lilting and funky “Snow in Central Park,”is a holdover from that prior date and includes Michael Wimberly on congas and bassistKen Filiano. Though this record’s seven tracks are concise and clearly delineated,programmatically they hang together, a quality recognizable throughout Braufman’sleader discography (his debut consists of two sidelong suites), not least because hiscompositions are hooky and inviting.The opening piece, “Angels,” is anthemic, gospel-tinged, and with a martial B-section,recalls Albert Ayler though with Braufman’s more velvety flywheel as an underpinning.The leader’s alto can certainly peel paint, but these salvos are delivered with a patientbrightness and loquacious urgency. “In Motion” is a post-bop number in which the tartpush of Jackie McLean is audible, but contextually updated with the warped cascades ofBrennan’s electronically-augmented vibraphone, a voice that is both foregrounded andglassily atmospheric, and the supplely driving gradient of bass and drums. Stewart andTaylor are a telepathic pairing throughout, rock solid on the groovier numbers (digTaylor’s metronomic backbeat, tight enough to almost sound looped) and shimmering infreer rubato space.Though Braufman is the only horn (tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis has been afrequent front-line partner), occasional and elegantly-done overdubs create interweavinglines. On the title tune, its appealing melodic bounce is accentuated by doublingoctaves, and there’s the bamboo-like birdsong of the closing “Reflections on a RainyDay” with its shakuhachi-like clamber. Through the subtle linkages between songs,improvisations, and four individual personalities, Anthem for Peace creates a highlysimpatico and positive sonic worldview that we can all get behind.Please Note: MONKS JAZZ IS NOW A FULL SERVICE BAR. As part of this transition, Monks Jazz is no longer a BYOB venue. We invite you to enjoy our thoughtfully curated beverage menu and roll with us through the changes! As always, this is a live-taping, so we'll be enforcing a whisper-policy! Free parking is available in the area. Doors at 7:00 PM, Show at 7:30 PM.Monks is open 6:30 PM for a new Happy Half Hour, featuring $2 off of our Classic and Signature Cocktails, $2 off Glasses of Wine, and $1 off of our Beer Menu between 6:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Join us for a drink, or come at your scheduled seating time! We'll have a wonderful evening planned ahead!
Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Alan Braufman Quintet!Alan Braufman - Alto Saxophone and FluteChase Baird - Tenor SaxophoneStefan Gonzalez - VibraphoneMathew Frerck - BassJoshua Canate - DrumsFor decades, alto saxophonist and flutist Alan Braufman was a cult musician whosethen-lone LP as a bandleader, 1975’s Valley of Search, offered rich, evocative, andforthright sonic documentation of a lower Manhattan jazz scene slightly afield from theSoHo and Lower East Side hubbub. Following the enthusiastically-received reissue ofthat record forty-three years later, Braufman, who never stopped playing or writingmusic, has marked several years of greater visibility with a string of consistently warmand intense small-group recordings (and a few previously-unissued archival discs) thatfeature a mix of peers and younger firebrands from the contemporary Americanimprovisation scene.A necessity for this time period, the aptly-titled Anthem for Peace sees Braufman in aquartet setting, joining forces with vibraphonist Patricia Brennan anddrummer/percussionist Chad Taylor, both of whom are returning from 2024’s InfiniteLove Infinite Tears, and bassist Luke Stewart, a familiar player marking his firstcollaboration with the saxophonist. One cut, the lilting and funky “Snow in Central Park,”is a holdover from that prior date and includes Michael Wimberly on congas and bassistKen Filiano. Though this record’s seven tracks are concise and clearly delineated,programmatically they hang together, a quality recognizable throughout Braufman’sleader discography (his debut consists of two sidelong suites), not least because hiscompositions are hooky and inviting.The opening piece, “Angels,” is anthemic, gospel-tinged, and with a martial B-section,recalls Albert Ayler though with Braufman’s more velvety flywheel as an underpinning.The leader’s alto can certainly peel paint, but these salvos are delivered with a patientbrightness and loquacious urgency. “In Motion” is a post-bop number in which the tartpush of Jackie McLean is audible, but contextually updated with the warped cascades ofBrennan’s electronically-augmented vibraphone, a voice that is both foregrounded andglassily atmospheric, and the supplely driving gradient of bass and drums. Stewart andTaylor are a telepathic pairing throughout, rock solid on the groovier numbers (digTaylor’s metronomic backbeat, tight enough to almost sound looped) and shimmering infreer rubato space.Though Braufman is the only horn (tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis has been afrequent front-line partner), occasional and elegantly-done overdubs create interweavinglines. On the title tune, its appealing melodic bounce is accentuated by doublingoctaves, and there’s the bamboo-like birdsong of the closing “Reflections on a RainyDay” with its shakuhachi-like clamber. Through the subtle linkages between songs,improvisations, and four individual personalities, Anthem for Peace creates a highlysimpatico and positive sonic worldview that we can all get behind.Please Note: MONKS JAZZ IS NOW A FULL SERVICE BAR. As part of this transition, Monks Jazz is no longer a BYOB venue. We invite you to enjoy our thoughtfully curated beverage menu and roll with us through the changes! As always, this is a live-taping, so we'll be enforcing a whisper-policy! Free parking is available in the area. Doors at 7:00 PM, Show at 7:30 PM.Monks is open 6:30 PM for a new Happy Half Hour, featuring $2 off of our Classic and Signature Cocktails, $2 off Glasses of Wine, and $1 off of our Beer Menu between 6:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Join us for a drink, or come at your scheduled seating time! We'll have a wonderful evening planned ahead!
Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Alan Braufman Quintet!Alan Braufman - Alto Saxophone and FluteChase Baird - Tenor SaxophoneStefan Gonzalez - VibraphoneMathew Frerck - BassJoshua Canate - DrumsFor decades, alto saxophonist and flutist Alan Braufman was a cult musician whosethen-lone LP as a bandleader, 1975’s Valley of Search, offered rich, evocative, andforthright sonic documentation of a lower Manhattan jazz scene slightly afield from theSoHo and Lower East Side hubbub. Following the enthusiastically-received reissue ofthat record forty-three years later, Braufman, who never stopped playing or writingmusic, has marked several years of greater visibility with a string of consistently warmand intense small-group recordings (and a few previously-unissued archival discs) thatfeature a mix of peers and younger firebrands from the contemporary Americanimprovisation scene.A necessity for this time period, the aptly-titled Anthem for Peace sees Braufman in aquartet setting, joining forces with vibraphonist Patricia Brennan anddrummer/percussionist Chad Taylor, both of whom are returning from 2024’s InfiniteLove Infinite Tears, and bassist Luke Stewart, a familiar player marking his firstcollaboration with the saxophonist. One cut, the lilting and funky “Snow in Central Park,”is a holdover from that prior date and includes Michael Wimberly on congas and bassistKen Filiano. Though this record’s seven tracks are concise and clearly delineated,programmatically they hang together, a quality recognizable throughout Braufman’sleader discography (his debut consists of two sidelong suites), not least because hiscompositions are hooky and inviting.The opening piece, “Angels,” is anthemic, gospel-tinged, and with a martial B-section,recalls Albert Ayler though with Braufman’s more velvety flywheel as an underpinning.The leader’s alto can certainly peel paint, but these salvos are delivered with a patientbrightness and loquacious urgency. “In Motion” is a post-bop number in which the tartpush of Jackie McLean is audible, but contextually updated with the warped cascades ofBrennan’s electronically-augmented vibraphone, a voice that is both foregrounded andglassily atmospheric, and the supplely driving gradient of bass and drums. Stewart andTaylor are a telepathic pairing throughout, rock solid on the groovier numbers (digTaylor’s metronomic backbeat, tight enough to almost sound looped) and shimmering infreer rubato space.Though Braufman is the only horn (tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis has been afrequent front-line partner), occasional and elegantly-done overdubs create interweavinglines. On the title tune, its appealing melodic bounce is accentuated by doublingoctaves, and there’s the bamboo-like birdsong of the closing “Reflections on a RainyDay” with its shakuhachi-like clamber. Through the subtle linkages between songs,improvisations, and four individual personalities, Anthem for Peace creates a highlysimpatico and positive sonic worldview that we can all get behind.Please Note: MONKS JAZZ IS NOW A FULL SERVICE BAR. As part of this transition, Monks Jazz is no longer a BYOB venue. We invite you to enjoy our thoughtfully curated beverage menu and roll with us through the changes! As always, this is a live-taping, so we'll be enforcing a whisper-policy! Free parking is available in the area. Doors at 7:00 PM, Show at 7:30 PM.Monks is open 6:30 PM for a new Happy Half Hour, featuring $2 off of our Classic and Signature Cocktails, $2 off Glasses of Wine, and $1 off of our Beer Menu between 6:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Join us for a drink, or come at your scheduled seating time! We'll have a wonderful evening planned ahead!
Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Alan Braufman Quintet!Alan Braufman - Alto Saxophone and FluteChase Baird - Tenor SaxophoneStefan Gonzalez - VibraphoneMathew Frerck - BassJoshua Canate - DrumsFor decades, alto saxophonist and flutist Alan Braufman was a cult musician whosethen-lone LP as a bandleader, 1975’s Valley of Search, offered rich, evocative, andforthright sonic documentation of a lower Manhattan jazz scene slightly afield from theSoHo and Lower East Side hubbub. Following the enthusiastically-received reissue ofthat record forty-three years later, Braufman, who never stopped playing or writingmusic, has marked several years of greater visibility with a string of consistently warmand intense small-group recordings (and a few previously-unissued archival discs) thatfeature a mix of peers and younger firebrands from the contemporary Americanimprovisation scene.A necessity for this time period, the aptly-titled Anthem for Peace sees Braufman in aquartet setting, joining forces with vibraphonist Patricia Brennan anddrummer/percussionist Chad Taylor, both of whom are returning from 2024’s InfiniteLove Infinite Tears, and bassist Luke Stewart, a familiar player marking his firstcollaboration with the saxophonist. One cut, the lilting and funky “Snow in Central Park,”is a holdover from that prior date and includes Michael Wimberly on congas and bassistKen Filiano. Though this record’s seven tracks are concise and clearly delineated,programmatically they hang together, a quality recognizable throughout Braufman’sleader discography (his debut consists of two sidelong suites), not least because hiscompositions are hooky and inviting.The opening piece, “Angels,” is anthemic, gospel-tinged, and with a martial B-section,recalls Albert Ayler though with Braufman’s more velvety flywheel as an underpinning.The leader’s alto can certainly peel paint, but these salvos are delivered with a patientbrightness and loquacious urgency. “In Motion” is a post-bop number in which the tartpush of Jackie McLean is audible, but contextually updated with the warped cascades ofBrennan’s electronically-augmented vibraphone, a voice that is both foregrounded andglassily atmospheric, and the supplely driving gradient of bass and drums. Stewart andTaylor are a telepathic pairing throughout, rock solid on the groovier numbers (digTaylor’s metronomic backbeat, tight enough to almost sound looped) and shimmering infreer rubato space.Though Braufman is the only horn (tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis has been afrequent front-line partner), occasional and elegantly-done overdubs create interweavinglines. On the title tune, its appealing melodic bounce is accentuated by doublingoctaves, and there’s the bamboo-like birdsong of the closing “Reflections on a RainyDay” with its shakuhachi-like clamber. Through the subtle linkages between songs,improvisations, and four individual personalities, Anthem for Peace creates a highlysimpatico and positive sonic worldview that we can all get behind.Please Note: MONKS JAZZ IS NOW A FULL SERVICE BAR. As part of this transition, Monks Jazz is no longer a BYOB venue. We invite you to enjoy our thoughtfully curated beverage menu and roll with us through the changes! As always, this is a live-taping, so we'll be enforcing a whisper-policy! Free parking is available in the area. Doors at 7:00 PM, Show at 7:30 PM.Monks is open 6:30 PM for a new Happy Half Hour, featuring $2 off of our Classic and Signature Cocktails, $2 off Glasses of Wine, and $1 off of our Beer Menu between 6:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Join us for a drink, or come at your scheduled seating time! We'll have a wonderful evening planned ahead!