Ralph Alessi & This Against That feat. Ravi Coltrane

Leading American jazz trumpeter with a bright, classically trained style chooses for adventure in his supergroup with star saxophonist Ravi Coltrane. ‘A perfect balance of freedom and structure’ (PopMatters).

Describing Ralph Alessi’s trumpet playing is like describing his compositions: clear of sound and structure and simultaneously full of ingenuity and expertise. This gives him room for adventure and innovation and that’s what This Against That is all about. In this all-star group Alessi plays alongside Ravi Coltrane, a successful band leader in his own right who has fully embraced the heritage of his parents John and Alice Coltrane.

Ralph Alessi’s excellence on trumpet has made him an in-demand sideman in New York and for years he has played in very different formations with Fred Hersch, Steve Coleman, Uri Caine, Don Byron and many others. In his own turn he surrounds himself with well-known musicians, for example on his recent ECM-released solo albums Baida and Quiver. Wiry Strong, the most recent album of This Against That, appeared on Clean Feed.

‘This Against That strikes a perfect balance of freedom and structure. Across all this work as a leader, Alessi combines the best of so many strains of current jazz trumpet art. His sound reaches back to a wide range of sources: hard bop cracklers like Lee Morgan, the lyrical arc of Miles Davis, and the modern expressiveness of Don Cherry and Lester Bowie. His approach can be tonal, and within the jazz tradition of melodies over chords with improvising, it can thrive in a lyrical traditional of freer improvisation, and it often seems related to ‘new trumpet music’ that we may associate with young firebrands such as Peter Evans and Nate Wooley. Somehow, Alessi makes many strains feel like one, a single sound and personality. Ralph Alessi for trumpet king. Why not?’ (PopMatters).

Ravi Coltrane tenor sax, Ralph Alessi trumpet, Andy Milne piano, John Hébert bass, Mark Ferber drums