For those unaware, Ralph Alessi’s fourth appearance as a leader for the label follows a singular album run that’s been met with nothing but praise from The New York Times to The Guardian.

On his new album, It’s Always Now (due out April 7th, 2023, via ECM Records), Alessi’s unique tone is as limber, piercing and present as ever, enveloped by a fresh quartet line-up - pianist Florian Weber, Benz Oester on bass and drummer Gerry Hemingway - that navigates through the trumpeter’s idiosyncratically swinging compositions with a sixth sense.

1. Hypnagogic
2. Old Baby
3. Migratory Party
4. Residue
5. The Shadow Side
6. It’s Always Now
7. Diagonal Lady
8. His Hopes, His Fears, His Tears
9. Everything Mirrors Everything
10. Portion Control
11. Ire
12. Hanging By A Thread
13. Tumbleweed

On what is a simply divine listening experience from start to finish, the album opens on the quixotic sounds of Hypnagogic and the natural, albeit tangibly ethereal sound within Old Baby and follows those up with the brushed drums luring us smoothly along within the mesmerizing Migratory Party, their synchronized connectivity of Residue, and then brings us the verily shimmering The Shadow Side and the Eastern-hued rhythms that are subtly sewn within the titular It’s Always Now.

Along next is the enchanting Diagonal Lady and the internal glow within His Hopes, His Fears, His Tears, and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the melodically burnished Everything Mirrors Everything, Portion Control is threaded with a feeling of dysphoria, the organically-structured Ire never once breaks its purlieus, the new album rounding out on the smoothly agile Hanging By A Thread, closing on the compelling Tumbleweed.

The album is not only a continuation of the leaders work, but also records Florian’s evolution on the label, this being his fourth album with ECM to date.

His distinctive harmonic approach on keys is as evident in leader settings as in the role of a sideman, and his deep sensibility for Alessi’s pulse enhances this session, which was produced by Manfred Eicher.

Official Website

www.ecmrecords.com