Ralph Alessi (born March 5, 1963) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

trumpeter, composer, and ECM recording artist. Alessi is known as a virtuosic performer whose critically-acclaimed projects include his Baida Quartet, with

Jason Moran Jason Moran may refer to: * Jason Moran (criminal) (1967–2003), Australian mobster * Jason Moran (musician) Jason Moran (born January 21, 1975) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator involved in multimedia art and theatrical inst ...

Drew Gress Drew Gress (born November 20, 1959) is an American jazz double-bassist and composer born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in the Philadelphia area. Biography Gress studied at Towson State University and Manhattan School of Music. In the late 1 ...

, and

Nasheet Waits Nasheet Waits is an American jazz drummer. Son of percussionist Freddie Waits, Nasheet Waits is a New York native who has been active on the jazz scene since early in his life. Before pursuing a music career, he studied psychology and history a ...

, and This Against That, his quintet with

Andy Milne Andy Milne (born January 30, 1969) 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 sibl ...

, Gress, Mark Ferber, and

Ravi Coltrane Ravi Coltrane (born August 6, 1965) 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. Biography Ravi Coltrane is the son of sa ...

. Alessi has also recorded and performed with artists including

Steve Coleman Steve Coleman (born September 20, 1956) is an American saxophonist, composer, bandleader and music theorist. In 2014, he was named a MacArthur Fellow. Early life Steve Coleman was born and grew up in South Side, Chicago. He started playing al ...

Uri Caine Uri Caine (born June 8, 1956, Philadelphia, United States) is an American classical and jazz pianist and composer. Biography Early years The son of Burton Caine, a professor at Temple Law School, and poet Shulamith Wechter Caine, Caine began p ...

Fred Hersch Fred Hersch (born October 21, 1955) is an American jazz pianist, educator and HIV/AIDS activist. He was the first person to play weeklong engagements as a solo pianist at the Village Vanguard in New York City. He has recorded more than 70 of his ...

, and

Don Byron Donald Byron (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet but has also played bass clarinet and saxophone in a variety of genres that includes free jazz and klezmer. Biography His mother w ...

. Alessi is known for his work as an educator, and in 2001 he founded the School for Improvisational Music in Brooklyn, New York. He has taught at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

NEC is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It prov ...

, the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

, Siena Jazz University, and

University of the Arts Bern __NOTOC__ The University of the Arts Bern (german: Hochschule der Künste Bern) is an art school with locations in Bern and Biel/Bienne. It was created in 2003 from the merger of the University of Music and Theatre and the School of Design, Art an ...

Early life and career

Alessi was born and raised in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. His parents met as performers at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

: his mother, Maria Leone Alessi, sang in the chorus; his father, Joseph Alessi Sr., was principal trumpet for nearly 15 seasons. His brother,

Joseph Alessi Joseph Norman Alessi (born September 20, 1959) is an American classical trombonist with the New York Philharmonic. Life Joseph Norman Alessi was born in Detroit, Michigan and attended high school in San Rafael, California. His father, also nam ...

, is a trombonist with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

. Alessi also began as a classical musician, and performed with the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

and

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when he ...

in his teens. He later attended the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

, studying with

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

while earning a BFA in jazz trumpet performance and MFA in jazz bass performance. In 1986, he met fellow CalArts student

, who became one of his longest-standing collaborators. ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

'' describes their "musical bond" as "arguably developing into a rapport on par with the highest echelon of trumpet/tenor combinations"; Coltrane once gave an interview with ''NPR'' focused entirely on his favorite song, Alessi's "Who Wants Ice Cream".

Select discography

* ''Hissy Fit'' (1999, Love Slave) * ''This Against That'' (2002, RKM) * ''Vice & Virtue'' (2002, RKM) * ''Look'' (2007, Between the Lines) * ''Open Season'' (2009, RKM) * ''Cognitive Dissonance'' (2010,

CAM Jazz CAM Jazz is an Italian jazz record label founded in 2000. It is part of group that also manages the labels CAM Jazz Presents, Black Saint/Soul Note, and DDQ (Dischi Della Quercia). The label's musicians have received several Grammy Award nominatio ...

) * ''Wiry Strong'' (2011,

Clean Feed Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music A ...

) * ''Only Many'' (2013, CAM Jazz) * '' Baida'' with

(2013, ECM) * ''Quiver'' (2016, ECM) * ''Imaginary Friends'' with

, Drew Gress, Mark Ferber (2018, ECM)

As sideman

With David Ake * ''Bridges'' (Posi-Tone, 2013) * ''Humanities'' (Posi-Tone, 2018) With

* ''You are #6'' (Blue Note, 2001) * ''Ivey Divey'' (Blue Note, 2006) With

Michael Cain Michael Cain (born April 2, 1966) is a pianist and composer. Biography Cain attended several universities starting with the University of North Texas. Although initially a jazz major, he found that classical music was occupying more of his ...

* ''

Circa Circa is a word of Latin origin meaning 'approximately'. Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), art platform based in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear com ...

'' (ECM, 1996) With

* '' The Sidewalks of New York: Tin Pan Alley'' (

Winter & Winter Winter & Winter is a record label in Munich, Germany that specializes in jazz, classical and improvised music. It was founded by Stefan Winter following the demise of his JMT Records label. Since 1997 Winter & Winter has released records by Da ...

, 1999) * '' Gustav Mahler in Toblach'' (Winter & Winter, 1999) * '' The Goldberg Variations'' (Winter & Winter, 2000) * '' Gustav Mahler: Dark Flame'' (Winter & Winter, 2003) * ''

Shelf-Life Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a ...

'' (Winter & Winter, 2005) * ''

Uri Caine Ensemble Plays Mozart ''Uri Caine Ensemble Plays Mozart'' is a live album by pianist Uri Caine's Ensemble performing works written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart recorded in 2006 and released on the Winter & Winter label. It was recorded at the Amstel church in Amsterdam as ...

'' (Winter & Winter, 2006) * '' The Othello Syndrome'' (Winter & Winter, 2009) * ''

Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered i ...

'' (Winter & Winter, 2013) With James Carney * ''Fables from the Aqueduct'' (1994, Jacaranda) * ''Offset Rhapsody'' (1997, Jacaranda) * ''Ways & Means'' (2009, Songlines) With

* ''A Tale of 3 Cities'' (Novus/BMG, 1994) * ''Myths, Modes, and Means'' (Novus/BMG, 1995) * ''The Way of the Cipher'' (Novus/BMG, 1995) * ''The Sign and the Seal'' (BMG, 1996) * ''Genesis'' (BMG, 1997) * ''The Sonic Language of Myth'' (BMG, 1999) * ''Lucidarium'' (Label Bleu, 2003) With

*'' Moving Pictures'' (RCA/BMG, 1998) *'' From the Round Box'' (RCA, 2000) *''

Spirit Fiction ''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. Track listing All ...

'' (Blue Note, 2012) With Scott Colley *''

Architect of the Silent Moment ''Architect of the Silent Moment'' is an album led by jazz bassist Scott Colley which was recorded in 2005 and released by the CAM Jazz label in 2007. Reception The AllMusic review by Michael G. Nastos states "This is easily Colley's best record ...

'' (CAM Jazz, 2005 007 *''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' (CAM Jazz, 2010) With

David Gilmore David Gilmore (born 5 February 1964) is an American jazz guitarist. Gilmore studied at New York University with Joe Lovano and Jim McNeely. In 1987 he began working professionally with the M-Base Collective and Ronald Shannon Jackson. In the 1 ...

* ''Ritualism'' (2000, Kashka) With

* ''7 Black Butterflies'' (Premonition, Koch, 2005) * ''The Irrational Numbers'' (Premonition, 2007) * ''The Sky Inside'' (Pirouet, 2013) With

* ''Leaves of Grass'' (2005, Palmetto) * ''Live from the Jazz Standard/ Fred Hersch Pocket Orchestra'' (2009, Palmetto) * ''Trio plus 2'' (Palmetto) * ''Songs Without Words'' (2009, Nonesuch) With

*''

Artist in Residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

, 2006) With

Enrico Pieranunzi Enrico Pieranunzi (born 5 December 1949) is an Italian jazz pianist. He combines classical technique with jazz. Biography The son of Renata Brillantini and Alvaro Pieranunzi, Enrico Pieranunzi was encouraged to study music at a young age. Hi ...

* Proximity (2015, CamJazz) With

Lonnie Plaxico Lonnie Plaxico (born September 4, 1960) is an American jazz double bassist. Biography Plaxico was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a musical family, and started playing the bass at the age of twelve, turning professional at fourteen (playing both ...

* ''With All My Heart'' (1994,

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

) * ''Emergence'' (2000,

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

) With Sam Rivers * ''Inspiration'' (1999,

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

) * ''

Culmination In observational astronomy, culmination is the passage of a celestial object (such as the Sun, the Moon, a planet, a star, constellation or a deep-sky object) across the observer's local meridian. These events were also known as meridian transits ...

'' (1999, BMG France/RCA) With

Yelena Eckemoff Yelena Eckemoff is a Russian-born pianist, composer, poet, and visual artist. Her compositions blend classical music with jazz, and feature exploration and improvisation. Music career Eckemoff was born in Moscow, Russia, in the Soviet Union. He ...

* ''Better Than Gold and Silver'' (2018, L&H) * ''I Am a Stranger in This World'' (2022, L&H) With Others * Peter Epstein, ''Polarities'' (2014) * Tomas Fujiwara Trio, ''Variable Bets'' (

Relative Pitch Relative pitch is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note by comparing it to a reference note and identifying the interval between those two notes. For example, if the note ''Do'' and ''Fa'' is played on a piano, a per ...

, 2014) * Florian Weber, ''Lucent Waters'' (ECM, 2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alessi, Ralph Jazz trumpeters Composers from San Francisco Living people Avant-garde jazz trumpeters 1963 births American trumpeters American male trumpeters American jazz composers American male jazz composers Jazz musicians from San Francisco 21st-century trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians