A Sun That Never Sets Ralph Alessi

• 1 A Sun That Never Sets 06:53
• 2 Nothing is Dead 06:33
• 3 Relaxed Misery 06:34
• 4 Sweet Spot 03:10
• 5 Ether 05:24
• 6 Twichild 03:07
• 7 Transitional Imagery 06:46
• 8 Slow Dancing Bear 04:21
• 9 Of Trees 04:13
• 10 Duck Face 06:26
• 11 Behind Clouds 03:16
• Total Runtime 56:43

Info for A Sun That Never Sets

On A Sun That Never Sets, Ralph Alessi expands the quartet configuration with a fifth player for a set of eleven new compositions that elaborate on Alessi’s intricate writing with deep thought and a fresh sense of adventure. The last time Alessi operated with a quintet was alongside saxophonist Ravi Coltrane in his This Against That ensemble, captured on 2019’s acclaimed Imaginary Friends, among several other recordings from that outfit. However instead of a saxophonist, this time the trumpeter’s brother Joseph Alessi comes into the fold and fortifies an already state-of-the-art group with inspired trombone lines in frequently electrifying interplay with Ralph. Pianist Matt Mitchell, John Hébert on double bass and Ches Smith on drums and vibraphone round out a band that navigates Alessi’s syncopated themes like a playground, finding new modes of expression for every turn.

“In this band,“ Ralph says, “everybody's just so strong, and very little, if anything, ever has to be said – which is what I prefer.” The near-telepathic communication between the players is in evidence throughout – as haunting and meticulously phrased in the more subtle rubato elaborations (“Nothing Is Dead”, “Sweet Spot”, “Twichild”) as it is cunning and commanding in full-out romps (“Relaxed Misery”, “Of Trees”…).

Ralph hasn’t always traded bars with his brother Joseph, whose day job as an A-list classical trombonist for the New York Philharmonic tends to keep him busy. Only in the past ten years did they start playing together here and there, after Joseph sat in on one of Ralph’s lectures at the University of Nevada in Reno. “It was uncharted waters through and through for me,” Ralph notes, talking about how he approached writing for this specific line-up. “Not just 'cause I was doing it with my brother in this improvisatory context, but also just the fact that it’s a trombone. I've never really done any of my records with trombone. It was challenging and there was a lot of thought that went into preparing this music with him in mind. And at the end I have to say I’m very happy with how that played out!”

The brothers improvise freely and playfully for the intro of “Relaxed Misery”, inspiring strong statements in each other. Clear lines, articulated in carefully set intervals, follow, succeeded by a strong Alessi solo-flight, mute on. Joseph’s parts don’t dominate on the record but appear now and then, applied with a painterly sense of space and harmonic completeness. Serpentine horn lines meander through “Ether”, on “Sweet Spot” it’s only a single passage of trombone that acts as a final ingredient to bring the miniature to a harmonious peak, and on “Of Trees” the brothers form a tight and spiky unit as they dive into highly syncopated waters head-first.

Ches Smith, a force on drums but equally savvy with the mallets in hand, is heard on vibraphone prominently for several cuts of the record. He introduces “Nothing Is Dead” with sustained vibraphone intervals on every first beat before making the switch to soft-spoken cymbal injections. Balladry here is often graced by Smith on vibraphone (“Sweet Spot”, “Behind Clouds”) whereas the more rhythmically propulsive pieces profit from his precise timing and ability to shift meters effortlessly on drums (“Duck Face”, “Transitional Imagery”…).

Ralph: “Obviously Ches is a very unique musician, and he really expands on the possibilities for orchestration. I didn't even have to suggest the pieces where he plays vibes. He's just a natural, he just went there. He's bringing that energy to it, adding such an interesting dimension to the music’s color.”

Speaking about influential figures in music the trumpeter continues to listen to today, Ralph doesn’t hesitate when he immediately refers to Ornette Coleman on the one hand and Igor Stravinsky on the other continually being in heavy rotation. “I find their music to be forever inspiring,” he says. “And I tend to gravitate towards music that makes me want to compose…”

One could argue that the two composer-extremes, in terms of their radical approaches, also figure in Ralph’s own music: Patiently moving, contemplative material and angular structures with heavy blowing coexist in a varied programme that gives every facet of Ralph Alessi’s idiosyncratic playing the space to shine. Online magazine Making A Scene has noted how “Alessi’s trumpet tone is pure and stunning both in terms of range and moods conveyed” – a fact in evidence throughout this album. Mitchell on piano traces the themes elegantly but reserves his freedom to play “outside” as well, elatedly dancing around the horns as Ches Smith and John Hébert keep pulses fluid on high alert.

The album, recorded at Oktaven Studio in New York in February 2025 and then mixed in Munich, was produced by Ralph Alessi and Manfred Eicher.

“Ralph Alessi has never had a problem with precision or grappled publicly with the mechanics of his art. His trumpet tone conveys a rounded luminescence, like the moon in full phase, and his technique is an astonishment of fluency.” - Nate Chinen, The New York Times

Ralph Alessi, trumpet
Joseph Alessi, trombone
Matt Mitchell, piano
John Hébert, double bass
Ches Smith, drums, vibraphone

February 2025, Oktaven Audio Studio, New Jersey

Ralph Alessi
s a trumpet player/composer who splits his time between Brooklyn, NY and Bern, Switzerland. Over his career he has played and recorded with the likes of Fred Hersch, Steve Coleman, Ravi Coltrane, Jason Moran, Sam Rivers, Tim Berne, Uri Caine and many others. Currently, Ralph records for the ECM record label and will be working on a new record in late 2020. As an educator, he has taught at the Eastman School of Music, NYU and University of Nevada-Reno. He is also the founder/director of the School for Improvisational Music, a visiting professor at the Accademia Nazionale del Jazz in Siena, Italy and recently joined the faculty at the Hochschule der Künste Bern JAZZ.

Booklet for A Sun That Never Sets