ANTHEM FOR PEACE [LP]

Alto saxophonist and flutist Alan Braufman first emerged as a singular voice in New York''''s 1970s loft-jazz scene with his 1975 debut Valley of Search, a record that would later be recognized as a landmark of spiritual and free jazz. After decades outside the spotlight, Braufman returned with a new wave of acclaim, releasing two highly regarded albums in 2020 and 2024 that reestablished him as both an essential elder and a vital contemporary presence'long described as 'a legend in free music" (Gilles Peterson / BBC).??Recorded in a single day in the fall of 2025, Anthem for Peace is a fully new studio album that captures Braufman in the present tense. Leading a quartet with vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, bassist Luke Stewart, and drummer Chad Taylor, he delivers concise, hook-forward compositions that move fluidly between spiritual anthems, buoyant post-bop, and hypnotic, eastern-influenced themes. Brennan''''s vibraphone'shimmering acoustically and occasionally treated electronically'adds depth and color, while Stewart and Taylor form a deeply locked, responsive rhythm section. The result is music that is 'playful and light, yet texturally dense" (NPR): optimistic, focused, and driven by a clear sense of forward motion.