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Ralph Alessi Imaginary Friends Ralph Alessi: trumpet Ravi Coltrane: tenor and sopranino saxophones Andy Milne: piano Drew Gress: double-bass Mark Ferber: drums ECM 2629 available on CD, download and streaming: Release: February 01, 2019 Trumpeter Ralph Alessi’s first two ECM albums as a leader – Baida (2013) and Quiver (2016) – justly earned him high praise. The New York Times lauded the “elegant precision and power” of Baida, while The Guardian extolled Quiver, pointing to the leader’s “flawless technique and ability to draw on jazz tradition while avoiding its clichés.” After those quartet discs, Alessi’s third ECM album, Imaginary Friends, presents him fronting a longtime working quintet in its first recording since 2010. Alessi’s bandmates include a kindred spirit in saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, a studio and stage partner of the trumpeter’s since they were students together at the California Institute of the Arts in the
