Ralph Alessi with Drew Gress, Jason Moran and Nasheet Waits @ Cornelia Street Cafe

Jason Moran, Drew Gress, Ralph Alessi, Nasheet Waits

Ralph Alessi (trumpet and compositions), Drew Gress (bass), Nasheet Waits (drums) and Jason Moran (piano). I heard Thursday 10:30 set. It was quite packed (many seemed to be  students or musicians). As a listener I felt this music didn’t speak to me that much – maybe one has to be Ralph Alessi’s composition student to grasp the ideas? I also wished he had introduced the songs just a little bit… Maybe that would have built some kind of connection. I thought Drew Gress played great, and naturally it was a pleasure to hear Nasheet Waits, but I guess it was just one of those night when the magic didn’t happen with the actual music.