Ralph Alessi: Cognitive Dissonance (2010)

John Kelman

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With the realization that there will always be more music coming at him than he can keep up with, John wonders why anyone would think that jazz is dead or dying.

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Published: August 16, 2010

For his Cam Jazz debut, trumpeter Ralph Alessi recruits two key players from his sadly overlooked Look (Between the Lines, 2007). But while ubiquitous bassist Drew Gress Drew Gress
b.1959
bass (Marc Copland Marc Copland
b.1948
piano , Claudia Quintet Claudia Quintet
) is a mainstay of Cognitive Dissonance, pianist Andy Milne Andy Milne

piano only guests on the knottily themed but swinging "Sir" and a quirkily, near-unrecognizable version of Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder
b.1950
keyboard 's "Same Old Story." The rest of the album's fifteen tracks—eleven by Alessi, in addition to a free-spirited yet surprisingly lyrical version of Sam Rivers Sam Rivers
1923 - 2011
sax, tenor ' "Sunflower" and two collective improvs with Gress and drummer Nasheet Waits Nasheet Waits

drums —feature pianist Jason Moran Jason Moran
b.1975
piano , once again demonstrating his greater strengths as a sideman.

The same needn't be said about Alessi who, along with fellow trumpeter Ron Miles Ron Miles

trumpet , remains one of America's most perennially (and curiously) undervalued trumpeters. His plangent, warm and somehow compressed tone is just one compelling reason to check out bassist Scott Colley Scott Colley

bass 's Architect of the Silent Moment (Cam Jazz, 2007) (and his forthcoming 2010 Cam Jazz follow-up, Empire), guitarist Joel Harrison Joel Harrison
b.1957
guitar, electric 's The Wheel (Innova, 2008) and Gress' The Irrational Numbers (Premonition, 2008). With a relatively diminutive self-led discography, the avant-tinged trumpeter has also proven himself an astute bandleader and fine conceptualist, ranging from the oddly configured Vice & Virtue (RKM, 2003) to the more orthodox (but far from conventional) instrumental line-up of This Against That (RKM, 2002).

Cognitive Dissonance covers a lot of ground in an hour. The irregularly metered but unfailingly grooving title track kicks things off on a high note, with Gress and Waits building an M-Base-centric foundation over which Moran's funkified piano sets a broad harmonic context. Alessi's impressive opening salvo sets the tone for an album where the soloists are challenged to say a great deal in a short timeframe, succeeding consistently. Despite only one track exceeding six minutes, with the majority ranging between three and four, there's never a sense of being hurried, as Alessi solos with equal invention over the even more rhythmically intricate "Buying, Selling"—his even briefer solo (on a tune where the head occupies a full minute of its 2:56 running time) a muted combination of spare, swinging ideas and equal consideration of space, with Moran's staggered accompaniment leading to a similarly well-conceived solo, supported by the ever-pliant, ever-responsive Gress and Waits.

Alessi waxes lyrical on the balladic "Dog Waking" and tango-esque "One Wheeler Will," written for William Coltrane—son of legendary saxophonist John Coltrane John Coltrane
1926 - 1967
saxophone 's son (and also very fine reed man) Ravi Coltrane Ravi Coltrane
b.1965
sax, tenor . An inadvertent nod to expat Canadian trumpet icon Kenny Wheeler Kenny Wheeler
b.1930
trumpet in the trumpeter's tone and expressive melancholy, "One Wheeler Will" also features a robust, yet metallic and Gary Peacock Gary Peacock
b.1935
bass -like solo from Gress that's a Cognitive Dissonance highlight.

With so much ground covered, it would be easy for Cognitive Dissonance to lose its focus, to become overly eclectic. But with Alessi's writing—a challenging combination of memorable themes, harmonically and rhythmically tricky contexts and improvisational largess—and an unfettered yet focused playing style that never succumbs to excess, Cognitive Dissonance easily deserves consideration alongside the music of better-known contemporaries like Dave Douglas Dave Douglas
b.1963
trumpet .

Track Listing: Cognitive Dissonance; Buying, Selling; Dog Waking ; Duel; A Plenty; One Wheeler Will; Sir; Goodbye Ruth's; HairTrigger; Better Not To Know; Sunflower; Same Old Story; Option 8; Wait; Goodbye Ruths (slow).

Personnel: Ralph Alessi: trumpet; Drew Gress: double-bass; Jason Moran: piano (1-6, 8-11, 13-15); Andy Milne: piano (7, 12); Nasheet Waits: drums.

Record Label: Cam Jazz
Style: Modern Jazz