LPx3, Archival Release, Valley of Search Records, 2022
Recorded live on WBAI Radio on February 8, 1975
Limited to 500 copies
Overview
Cathartic fire music, communal chants, ritualistic percussion and mysterious serpentine explorations fill these 3 LPs, making for one of the most epic archival releases of last year. Recorded shortly after composer, saxophonist & flautist Alan Braufman’s 1975 masterpiece Valley of Search (his only album up until 2020), this live radio session is an essential counterpart featuring many of the same musicians treating these compositions like a triumphant & perilous spiritual quest. Legendary bassist Cecil McBee may be missing from these sessions, but a young 23-year old William Parker was already more than up for the task for this fiery, adventurous performance.
Style: Spiritual Jazz
Vibe: Communal, Ritualistic, Triumphant, Adventure, Searching, Devotional, Spiritual, Hypnotic, Epic
Musical Qualities: Collective Improvisation, Acoustic Instrumentation, Progressive Structures, Thematic, Polyrhythmic, Percussive, Dense, Complex, Suite, Live Recording, Chant
Personnel:
- Alan Braufman – alto saxophone, flute
- Cooper-Moore – piano, custom instrument, recitation
- William Parker – upright bass
- John Clark – French horn
- Jim Schapperoew – drums
- Ralph Williams – percussion
