User:Jazzbohemia

Alan Francis, Jazz Musician and Scholar Dr. Alan Francis was born in Niagara Falls, NY, Nov. 30, 1938. Biographical background has been provided from linear notes on Don Ellis/New Ideas, Down Beat Album of the Year 1961 Prestige 7607, rereleased by Fantasy Records, Berkeley, CA. While still in high school, Al studied percussion with John Roland of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra before moving to Boston to study with Charlie Smith (1956-1960), principal percussionist of the BSO at Boston University School of Fine and Applied Arts. He also studied and played in Boston at Wally´s Paradise and the Savoy on the Hill with Jaki Byard´s trio and big band, a pianist and composer who later gained fame with Maynard Ferguson and Charlie Mingus. The jazz musician, Al Francis, would later continue studying days at SUNY Buffalo and playing nites with Joel diBartolo, would then receive a scholarship to study at Harvard University and where he was granted his PhD, directed by Raimundo Lida, in 1976 from the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. This period of the life of Dr. Alan Francis´ life can be verified in the Harvard Alumni Directory published every ten years. Also, his Harvard doctoral thesis, Picaresca, decadencia, historia, was published by Gredos in Spain in 1978. While out of print and currently being considered for reprint in Cuba under the auspices  of Julio Rodrìguez-Puértolas, copies can still be located on the internet for from $300 to $500. Dr. Al Francis, teacher of Spanish with DOE/NYC in 3 public high schools, was resident vibraharpist/jazz musician at Calvary Episcopal, Gramercy Park, New York City-the same place where Bill Wilson had founded AA-during the 90´s where his presence has been documented and can be found on youtube/jazzbohemia recorded on video by Nick di Grandis featuring artists like Jack Walrath and the Iron Bound blues guitarist, Huey Cox. In addition, Al`s chronicler,Nick di Grandis, put Jazz Bohemia Revisited on myspace as well. As for the teacher-scholar, Dr. Francis had always dreamed of becoming a New York public school teacher after seeing Black Board Jungle while in high school himself, and did so at the age of 50. He retired on April Fool's Day of 2005 in protest of the Bloomberg holocaust of teachers and racist destabilization of New York City public schools.