Ralph Alessi

Last updated
Ralph Alessi
Florian Weber Quartet INNtone 10.jpg
Background information
Birth nameRalph Peter Alessi
Born (1963-03-05) March 5, 1963 (age 61)
San Francisco, California
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Jazz musician, composer
InstrumentTrumpet
Labels ECM, RKM

Ralph Alessi (born March 5, 1963) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and ECM recording artist. [1] [2] Alessi is known as a virtuosic performer [3] whose critically-acclaimed projects include his Baida Quartet, with Jason Moran, Drew Gress, and Nasheet Waits, [4] [5] and This Against That, his quintet with Andy Milne, Gress, Mark Ferber, and Ravi Coltrane. [6] [7] [8] Alessi has also recorded and performed with artists including Steve Coleman, Uri Caine, Fred Hersch, and Don Byron. [9] [10]

Contents

Alessi is known for his work as an educator, [11] and in 2001 he founded the School for Improvisational Music in Brooklyn, New York. [1] He has taught at the Eastman School of Music, NYU, NEC, [12] the University of Nevada, Reno, [13] Siena Jazz University, [14] and University of the Arts Bern.

Early life and career

Alessi was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. [15] His parents met as performers at the Metropolitan Opera: his mother, Maria Leone Alessi, sang in the chorus; his father, Joseph Alessi Sr., was principal trumpet for nearly 15 seasons. [16] His brother, Joseph Alessi, is a trombonist with the New York Philharmonic. [16]

Alessi also began as a classical musician, and performed with the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Opera in his teens. [17] He later attended the California Institute of the Arts, studying with Charlie Haden while earning a BFA in jazz trumpet performance and MFA in jazz bass performance. [15] In 1986, he met fellow CalArts student Ravi Coltrane, who became one of his longest-standing collaborators. [7] JazzTimes describes their "musical bond" as "arguably developing into a rapport on par with the highest echelon of trumpet/tenor combinations"; [6] Coltrane once gave an interview with NPR focused entirely on his favorite song, Alessi's "Who Wants Ice Cream". [18]

Select discography

As leader

As sideman

With David Ake

With Don Byron

With Michael Cain

With Uri Caine

With James Carney

With Steve Coleman

With Ravi Coltrane

With Scott Colley

With David Gilmore

With Drew Gress

With Fred Hersch

With Jason Moran

With Enrico Pieranunzi

With Lonnie Plaxico

With Sam Rivers

With Yelena Eckemoff

With Others

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paolo Fresu</span> Italian jazz musician (born 1961)

Paolo Fresu is an Italian jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player, as well as a composer and arranger of music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravi Coltrane</span> American jazz saxophonist (born 1965)

Ravi Coltrane is an American jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Speed</span> American saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer

Chris Speed is an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Gilmore</span> American jazz guitarist

David Gilmore is an American jazz guitarist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Garrison</span> American jazz bassist

Matthew Justin Garrison is an American jazz bassist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Rainey</span> American drummer

Tom Rainey is an American jazz drummer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Milne</span> Canadian jazz pianist (born 1969)

Andy Milne is a Canadian jazz pianist, who records and performs both as a solo artist and as the leader of the ensemble Dapp Theory. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and raised in Kincardine and Toronto. One of ten siblings, he studied music at York University, where he was a student of Oscar Peterson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew Gress</span> American jazz double bassist and composer

Drew Gress is an American jazz double-bassist and composer born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in the Philadelphia area.

Ralph Peterson Jr. was an American jazz drummer, composer, teacher, and bandleader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Perdomo (pianist)</span> American jazz pianist and composer (born 1971)

Luis Perdomo is a jazz pianist, composer, and educator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nasheet Waits</span> American jazz drummer (born 1971)

Nasheet Waits is an American jazz drummer.

Shane Endsley is an American trumpeter, drummer, and composer. He is a founding member of Kneebody, as well as an active leader and sideman with other New York City jazz musicians, as well as with pop and rock musicians such as Ani DiFranco and Pearl Jam.

"Moment's Notice" is a "classic" jazz standard composed by John Coltrane. The song was featured on Coltrane's noted 1958 recording Blue Train.

<i>Spirit Fiction</i> 2012 studio album by Ravi Coltrane

Spirit Fiction is a sixth solo album by jazz saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, released on July 19, 2012. His solo on the track "Cross Roads" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for the 2013 ceremony.

<i>Blending Times</i> 2009 studio album by Ravi Coltrane

Blending Times is Ravi Coltrane's fifth album as a band leader, and second for Savoy Records.

<i>Moving Pictures</i> (Ravi Coltrane album) 1998 studio album by Ravi Coltrane

Moving Pictures is the debut album by saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, recorded in 1997 and released on the RCA/BMG label.

<i>Baida</i> (Ralph Alessi album) 2013 studio album by Ralph Alessi

Baida is an album by trumpeter Ralph Alessi recorded in October 2012 and released on ECM September the following year. The quartet features rhythm section Jason Moran, Drew Gress and Nasheet Waits.

This is the discography of American jazz musician Paul Motian.

This is the discography for American jazz musician Charlie Haden.

<i>Rhapsody in Blue</i> (album) 2013 studio album by Uri Caine

Rhapsody in Blue is a studio album by American pianist Uri Caine. The album was released as a CD on August 13, 2013 via Winter & Winter label. A special vinyl LP edition of the album was also released, strictly limited to 500 numbered copies. This release does not have track 9.

References

  1. 1 2 Chinen, Nate (8 March 2007). "Ralph Alessi's This Against That: In Spartan Space, Jazz in a Communal Mode". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Ralph Alessi". All About Jazz. 5 March 1963. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  3. ↑ Fordham, John (29 July 2010). "Jim Hart/Ralph Alessi". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  4. ↑ Chinen, Nate (15 August 2010). "Ralph Alessi in a Quartet at the Jazz Standard". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 Fitzell, Sean (February 2014). "Baida: Ralph Alessi (ECM)" (PDF). The New York City Jazz Record. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  6. 1 2 Shanley, Mike (25 April 2019). "Ralph Alessi: Imaginary Friends (ECM)". JazzTimes. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  7. 1 2 Ouellette, Dan (29 April 2019). "Ralph Alessi Reconvenes Ensemble for 'Imaginary Friends'". DownBeat.
  8. ↑ Fitzell, Sean Patrick (10 April 2007). "Ralph Alessi & This Against That: Look". All About Jazz. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  9. 1 2 Layman, Will (13 May 2016). "Ralph Alessi: A Trumpet King for 2016". PopMatters.
  10. ↑ Collar, Matt. "Ralph Alessi | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  11. ↑ Chinen, Nate (19 June 2019). "The Gig: Brass Class". JazzTimes. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Ralph Alessi, Brian Levy join NEC jazz faculty". New England Conservatory. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "Joseph and Ralph Alessi with the UNR Trombone Choir". University of Nevada, Reno. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  14. ↑ Laskey, Kevin (February 2020). "A Provocative Blend: Ralph Alessi Speaks". Jazz Speaks. The Jazz Gallery. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  15. 1 2 Collar, Matt. "Ralph Alessi: Biography". Blue Note. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  16. 1 2 Currie, Barbara Jöstlein (January 2015). "Q&A With Joseph Alessi". The Juilliard Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  17. ↑ "Listen: Ralph Alessi – "Near Cry"". Jazz Speaks. The Jazz Gallery. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  18. ↑ Pellegrinelli, Lara (1 October 2013). "Ravi Coltrane's Favorite 'Ice Cream' Flavor". NPR. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  19. ↑ "AMN Reviews: Tomas Fujiwara Trio – Variable Bets (2014; Relative Pitch Records)". Avant Music News. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  20. ↑ de Barros, Paul (February 2019). "Florian Weber: Lucent Waters". DownBeat. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.