Alan has been nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Engineered Album Non-Classical for his mastering of the international hit “Lagrimas Negras” by Bebo Valdes and Diego El Cigala. His recent track record for mastering includes four Grammy nominees in 2016, four in 2017, four in 2018, and three in 2019, and four in 2020.
He coproduced, and engineered “Silver Skies Blue,” a duet album by Judy Collins and Ari Hest, which earned a final Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album in 2017.
In 2019, he coproduced, mixed, and mastered “Winter Stories” by Judy Collins, awarded “Best Folk Album of 2019” by Digital Journal. The single, “Mountain Girl,” reached #1 on Billboard’s Bluegrass chart. He mastered the most played record on jazz radio in 2019, Catherine Russell’s Grammy nominated album “Alone Together.” His master of the ground-breaking “SYSTEM EP” by DJ Delia Beatriz, made Pitchfork’s list of the 10-Best EDM albums of 2019.
In 2015, he coproduced and engineered “Strangers Again,” featuring duets by Judy Collins with Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Michael McDonald, Don McLean, and Jeff Bridges. The album reached the Billboard top-100.
Alan got his start doing tech and assisting at NYC’s Electric Lady Studios, covering sessions for The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Hall & Oates. Thereafter, he accepted a staff engineering position at A&R Recording, where he worked with legendary producer Phil Ramone and renowned musical artists Billy Joel, Kiss, and Judy Collins. He recorded and mixed musical scores for film directors David Mamet, Francis Coppola and Frank Oz, and top composers Elmer Bernstein and John Barry. He also fostered professional relationships that would come to last decades.
He went independent in 1996, continuing to work on music for records and feature films. He engineered and produced the soundtrack for the feature film adaptation of “The Fantasticks” directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He worked as music supervisor for Sesame Workshop, producing music and directing Muppet performers and celebrities for Sesame Street’s network television specials “Elmopalooza” and “Cinderelmo.” He garnered a Cable Ace Award for “Best Music Special,” as audio producer for “Child of Mine,” a film of live performances set in everyday locations by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rosanne Cash, Carole King, Emmylou Harris, and Dionne Warwick.
“People ask what musical styles I work in, I answer there are only are two kinds of music – good and not so good. One week I’ll work with trap or dancehall, and the next, a Flamenco guitarist or Symphony Hall. Good sound is good sound no matter the style.”
In 1996, Alan established his own company, the internationally recognized Arf! Mastering, now rebranded as Aerial Sound – headquartered in the original space of Jimi Hendrix’s first studio.
His film score credits continued to flourish – he was the score mixer for “Birdcage” starring Robin Williams. He notably co-produced the main title song for the Rob Reiner film “And So It Goes” starring Diane Keaton and Michael Douglas – a cover of the classic “Both Sides Now,” written by Joni Mitchell.
However, for all his professional recognition – he counts among his favorite accomplishments that he “almost” managed to train a Siberian husky. He’s also an avid dancer who steps out of the cockpit of his “starship” regularly to recharge in local partner dance classes, which inform his understanding of music through movement.