Jazz Times magazine has written that Ralph Alessi has "drop dead trumpet chops", and calls his music "as clean and airy and sophisticated and disciplined as post-modern progressive jazz gets".

Born in San Franciso as the son of a classical trumpeter and an opera singer, he freelanced as a classical player until studies with the legendary bassist Charlie Haden convinced him that his future lay in jazz, and he moved to New York to become a ubiquitous presence on the city's downtown scene. He's been a frequent collaborator with such luminaries as Steve Coleman, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane and Uri Caine (with whom he appeared at Newcastle's Live Theatre around a decade ago), as well as leading several highly acclaimed groups of his own.