Jazz Articles about Ralph Alessi

Olivier Le Goas Quartet: Gravitations

by Matt Cibula
January 12, 2007

Who the heck is Olivier Le Goas, and why do you need to know about him, like, tout de suite?

The 39-year-old drummer, who's much better known in Europe than he is here, has studied classical music, has led trios and other groups in his native France, and has even played in New York with some of the hippest guys around.

Gravitations should serve as his coming-out party. It's full of ambitious and spiky hard bop compositions, played with what ...

Ralph Alessi: Enjoying Musical Possibilities

by R.J. DeLuke
April 7, 2005

Being a trumpet player in New York City can be a daunting occupation. The city is full of monster musicians and there is competition for gigs among bands, and among individuals. Jazz musicians are a tight community, but it's still a survival game.

But Ralph Alessi, a Big Apple resident for about the last 15 years, is thriving -- busy making music of his own, with his own bands, that is esoteric and invigorating, and landing gigs with ...

Ralph Alessi: Vice & Virtue

by AAJ Staff
July 25, 2003

Two of the inaugural three releases on RKM Music rely on the talents of Ralph Alessi, which all things considered bodes very well for the new label. The three letters in the label's name embody the first initials of executive producer Ravi Coltrane, his wife Kathleen Hennessy, and reedman Michael McGinnis. But their stated goal is to place control over recording solely in the hands of the artists.

Vice & Virtue proudly displays the talents of drummer Shane Endsley alongside ...

Ralph Alessi: This Against That/Vice & Virtue

by Mark Corroto
August 7, 2002

It's time for trumpeter Ralph Alessi to step out from his role as a sideman and flex his muscular jazz talents.

Originally from the West Coast and trained at the California Institute For The Arts, Alessi moved to New York to find plenty of work in diverse bands led by Ravi Coltrane, Sam Rivers, Uri Caine, and Steve Coleman. From Coleman's M-BASE neo-funk, to Uri Caine's reworking of Mahler and Bach, and the outward looking Rivers he was ...