Ralph Alessi

American trumpeter Ralph Alessi, born in 1963, began playing in classical music ensembles before turning to jazz under the tutelage of Charlie Haden at the California State University of the Arts. After graduating in trumpet and bass, he moved to New York and worked with Ravi Coltrane, Steve Coleman and Uri Caine, before setting up his own band in 1999. Since then, he has regularly recorded as a leader with loyal partners such as Jason Moran, Drew Gress and Nasheet Waits. The albums This Against That (2002), Look (2007), Open Season (2009) and Cognitive Dissonance (2010) bear witness to his creativity. At the age of fifty, he signed with the ECM label for the albums Baida (2013) and Quiver (2016).