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Ralph Alessi

Trumpeter/Composer Ralph Alessi was born in San Francisco, CA, the son of classical trumpeter Joe Alessi and opera singer Maria Leone. After taking degrees in jazz trumpet and bass—he studied under the legendary Charlie Haden at CalArts—he set out for New York, where he swiftly became an ubiquitous presence on the downtown scene. He's been a frequent collaborator with such notable musicians as Steve Coleman, Jason Moran, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, Fred Hersch, Uri Caine and Marc Copland.

Alessi has recorded nine albums of original compositions which draw on everything from post-bop to neo classical music. He currently records for the ECM record label including his 2016 release Quiver. In 2018, he will release a new This Against That record on the label. As an educator, Ralph is an Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at University of Nevada-Reno as well as the director of the School for Improvisational Music.

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Radio & Podcasts

Fire! Orchestra, Ralph Alessi, Ron Caines & Karl Evangelista

Read "Fire! Orchestra, Ralph Alessi, Ron Caines & Karl Evangelista" reviewed by Maurice Hogue


Putting this episode together was a most enjoyable time; there was so much to choose out of a whack of new releases with a few “memories" too. On the new release side, you'll hear music from The Netherlands (saxophonist Hristo Goleminov, guitarist Ella Zirina and Tale Tellers From A Timeless Tribe), English free jazz saxophonist Ron Caines with the Raines-Archer Axis, California guitarist Karl Evangelista, the great trumpeter Ralph Alessi, drummer Jochen Rueckert, and the eclectic and usually- unpredictable Fire! ...

40
Liner Notes

Yelena Eckemoff: I Am a Stranger in This World

Read "Yelena Eckemoff: I Am a Stranger in This World" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


Russian-born pianist/composer Yelena Eckemoff began setting verses from the Bible's Book of Psalms shortly after her conversion to Christianity, even before her emigration to the United States. But she waited until she had considerable experience working with jazz musicians before producing her jazz arrangements. They were first recorded on her album Better Than Gold and Silver [L&H Production, 2018], which presented ten Psalm settings in both vocal and instrumental versions. The detailed story of how Yelena Eckemoff came to set ...

15
Album Review

Francesca Han & Ralph Alessi: Exude

Read "Exude" reviewed by Ian Patterson


The first duo recording from pianist Francesca Han and trumpeter Ralph Alessi has been a while coming, the pair first having met in New York in 2011. Shortly thereafter, Han left the Big Apple—closing the book on an eight-year sojourn--though not before recording the highly impressive Illusion (NatSat Music, 2012), which featured Alessi, Drew Gress, Corcoran Holt and Justin Brown. A decade on, Han and Alessi reunite on Exude. This joint effort is aptly named as neither holds back, though ...

5
Album Review

Tomas Fujiwara's Triple Double: March

Read "March" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


This is the second release by drummer and vibraphonist Tomas Fujiwara's unique double trio with himself and Gerald Cleaver on drums, Mary Halvorson and Brandon Seabrook on guitar and Taylor Ho Bynum and Ralph Alessi on brass, a group that can be configured as two trios, three pairs of instruments or something in between. The sound of the resulting combinations can come out ambient or raucous, but tends towards an angular prog-jazz fusion sound, that can pack the punch of ...

9
Album Review

Tomas Fujiwara's Triple Double: March

Read "March" reviewed by Mark Corroto


Drummer, composer and vibraphonist Tomas Fujiwara did not set out to rebut the saying “familiarity breeds contempt," but March from his sextet Triple Double does just that. His combination of three pairs of double instruments—guitarists Mary Halvorson and Brandon Seabrook, cornet/trumpets Taylor Ho Bynum and Ralph Alessi, plus double drummers Gerald Cleaver and Tomas Fujiwara himself—creates respect, the opposite of contempt. The harmonious and organic nature of this music, first heard on their self-titled debut album Triple Double (Firehouse 12, ...

10
Album Review

Tomas Fujiwara's Triple Double: March

Read "March" reviewed by Troy Dostert


Drummer Tomas Fujiwara's March, another offering from his Triple Double sextet, was recorded in December 2019, prior to the widespread racial unrest that followed the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others in 2020. But it feels completely of a piece with those protests, with an unsettled anger and impatience that animate every moment of this absorbing album. Creating music that seems perfectly suited for a tumultuous age, Fujiwara's compositional instincts are spot-on, and he once again marshals ...

9
Album Review

Tom Rainey Obbligato: Untucked In Hannover

Read "Untucked In Hannover" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Tom Rainey Obbligato is drummer Rainey's jazz standards group. Untucked In Hannover is the first live album of a triptych. It follows Obbligato (2014) and Float Upstream (2017), both on Intakt Records. Great American Songbook tunes hammered and bent and stretched away from expectations into new shapes is the name of the game, an approach which runs parallel to that of Lee Konitz, especially the alto saxophonist's late career outings, including Live At the Blue Note (Half Note, 2012) and ...

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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ralph Alessi

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ralph Alessi

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Ralph Alessi's birthday today!

Trumpeter/Composer Ralph Alessi was born in San Francisco, CA, the son of classical trumpeter Joe Alessi and opera singer Maria Leone. After taking degrees in jazz trumpet and bass—he studied under the legendary Charlie Haden at CalArts—he set out for New York, where he swiftly became an ubiquitous presence on the downtown scene. He's been a frequent collaborator with such notable musicians as Steve Coleman, Jason Moran, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ralph Alessi

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ralph Alessi

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Ralph Alessi's birthday today!

Trumpeter/Composer Ralph Alessi was born in San Francisco, CA, the son of classical trumpeter Joe Alessi and opera singer Maria Leone. After taking degrees in jazz trumpet and bass—he studied under the legendary Charlie Haden at CalArts—he set out for New York, where he swiftly became an ubiquitous presence on the downtown scene. He's been a frequent collaborator with such notable musicians as Steve Coleman, Jason Moran, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ralph Alessi

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ralph Alessi

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Ralph Alessi's birthday today!

Trumpeter/Composer Ralph Alessi was born in San Francisco, CA, the son of classical trumpeter Joe Alessi and opera singer Maria Leone. After taking degrees in jazz trumpet and bass—he studied under the legendary Charlie Haden at CalArts—he set out for New York, where he swiftly became an ubiquitous presence on the downtown scene. He's been a frequent collaborator with such notable musicians as Steve Coleman, Jason Moran, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ralph Alessi

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ralph Alessi

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Ralph Alessi's birthday today!

Trumpeter/Composer Ralph Alessi was born in San Francisco, CA, the son of classical trumpeter Joe Alessi and opera singer Maria Leone. After taking degrees in jazz trumpet and bass—he studied under the legendary Charlie Haden at CalArts—he set out for New York, where he swiftly became an ubiquitous presence on the downtown scene. He's been a frequent collaborator with such notable musicians as Steve Coleman, Jason Moran, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ralph Alessi

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ralph Alessi

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Ralph Alessi's birthday today!

Trumpeter/Composer Ralph Alessi was born in San Francisco, CA, the son of classical trumpeter Joe Alessi and opera singer Maria Leone. After taking degrees in jazz trumpet and bass—he studied under the legendary Charlie Haden at CalArts—he set out for New York, where he swiftly became an ubiquitous presence on the downtown scene. He\'s been a frequent collaborator with such notable musicians as Steve Coleman, Jason Moran, Don Byron... Read more. ...

1

Recording

Peter Epstein Joins With Ralph Alessi, Sam Minaie And Mark Ferber For First Songlines Release In Nine Years

Peter Epstein Joins With Ralph Alessi, Sam Minaie And Mark Ferber For First Songlines Release In Nine Years

Source: Cary Goldberg

Polarities, the New Album from the Peter Epstein Quartet, Will be Released on May 13 “...a wonderfully compelling and gripping album, on which instruments and sounds are of a rare expressive power." - Stef Gijssels, Free Jazz Blog, reviewing Epstein's previous release as a leader, Abstract Realism Saxophonist Peter Epstein may have slipped from public view a bit since leaving New York to take up a teaching position at the University of Nevada, Reno (where he is now the director ...

Education

Renowned Trumpeter Ralph Alessi And Saxophonist Brian Levy Join New England Conservatory Jazz Studies Faculty

Renowned Trumpeter Ralph Alessi And Saxophonist Brian Levy Join New England Conservatory Jazz Studies Faculty

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

New England Conservatory’s Jazz Studies Department has hired two renowned musicians to join the faculty: jazz trumpeter/composer Ralph Alessi who will teach trumpet and improvisation and jazz saxophonist Brian Levy who will teach both saxophone and music history and musicology. “I’m thrilled that Ralph Alessi has agreed to join our faculty,” said Ken Schaphorst, Chair of NEC’s Jazz Studies Department. His experience, both as an artist and as an educator, will provide a tremendous resource for our students.” Schaphorst is ...

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Recording

Avi Granite's Verse, Release Of "Snow Umbrellas," Featuring Avi Granite, Ralph Alessi, Jerry Devore, Owen Howard

Avi Granite's Verse, Release Of "Snow Umbrellas," Featuring Avi Granite, Ralph Alessi, Jerry Devore, Owen Howard

Source: Antje Hübner

A NEW VOICE IN JAZZ AVI GRANITE PRESENTS HIS LATEST RELEASE AS A LEADER SNOW UMBRELLAS BY AVI GRANITEʼS VERSE featuring Avi Granite Ralph Alessi Jerry DeVore Owen Howard AVAILABLE NOW ON ITUNES AND CD BABY RECORD RELEASE SHOW - MAY 17, 2012; 8 PM at 5C, New York City Canadian-born Avi Granite is a young guitarist, composer, improviser and educator who has already performed extensively across North America and Europe. He was a grant recipient from the Canada Council ...

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Recording

Trumpetman Ralph Alessi Fields Powerful Quintet for "Wiry Strong"

Trumpetman Ralph Alessi Fields Powerful Quintet for "Wiry Strong"

Source: Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards

In the struggle to stay ahead and/or catch up in these difficult economic times, the distractions and out-and-out traumas of survival can take us away from the good things that come by us in spite of all. That in part happened to me in the last week or so. Ralph Alessi and This Against That's Wiry Strong (Clean Feed 220) played numerous times on my system, yet it failed to register with me. I was elsewhere in my head. Then ...

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Performance / Tour

Ralph Alessi in a Quartet at the Jazz Standard

Ralph Alessi in a Quartet at the Jazz Standard

Source: AAJ Staff

Ralph Alessi has never had a problem with precision or grappled publicly with the mechanics of his art. His trumpet tone conveys a rounded luminescence, like the moon in full phase, and his technique is an astonishment of fluency. The challenge for him, at least as a bandleader, revolves around emotional expressiveness, along with the issue of purpose. At times it can seem as if Mr. Alessi favors open-endedness because he doesn't trust his own conclusions or his means of ...

"An individualist with a style and sound all his own..." —Downbeat Magazine

"Alessi's tone conveys a rounded luminescence, like the moon in full phase..." —NY Times

"Alessi has drop-dead trumpet chops and his music is as clean and airy and sophisticated and disciplined as post-modern progressive jazz gets..." —Jazz Times

Alex Koo
piano
Aretha Tillotson
bass, acoustic

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Oedipe Redux

Sunnyside Records
2023

buy

I Am a Stranger in...

L&H Production
2022

buy

March

Firehouse 12 Records
2022

buy

Exude

Hanji
2022

buy

Identified Flying...

W.E.R.F. Records
2021

buy

Untucked In Hannover

Intakt Records
2021

buy

Pack Up, Coming for You

From: March
By Ralph Alessi

At the Seams

From: Look
By Ralph Alessi

Videos

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