Ralph Alessi Baida Quartet Presents Jazz Concert at The Crane School of Music

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Jazz trumpeter Ralph Alessi will perform with his Baida Quartet at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Hosmer Hall.

POTSDAM, NY (10/27/2014)(readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music will present a Guest Artist Series concert featuring the renowned Ralph Alessi Baida Quartet on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall.

The dynamic ensemble will present a variety of works, including a number of original compositions written by the group's leader and namesake, jazz trumpeter Ralph Alessi.

Praised as "unstoppably inventive" by the New York Times, the Ralph Alessi Baida Quartet consists of Alessi on trumpet, Gary Versace on piano, Drew Gress on bass and Nasheet Wait on percussion.

"Alessi works between the notes. His thoughtful, conversational solos are as meditative as a calligrapher's art, each line free flowing and declarative, but with immaculate shape and beauty. Similarly, the group's focus on low-level details is a study in exactitude, like a jeweler's art set to music," Downbeat magazine raved.

The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

About the performers:

Ralph Alessi (trumpet) is the son of classical trumpeter Joe Alessi and opera singer Maria Leone. He studied under the legendary Charlie Haden at CalArts. Once in New York, Alessi swiftly became a ubiquitous presence on the downtown scene. He's been a frequent collaborator with such notable musicians as Steve Coleman, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, Uri Caine, Fred Hersch, Drew Gress, Prieto and Jason Moran. Alessi's music has been called "as clean and airy and sophisticated and disciplined as post-modern progressive jazz gets," by Jazz Times Magazine.

Gary Versace (piano) was voted a "rising star" on the Hammond organ in the last three Downbeat critics polls, and was the subject of a feature article in Keyboard magazine. He has also been a featured soloist on several critically acclaimed recordings. Versace has a master's degree in music performance from the Eastman School of Music, and spent eight years as an associate professor in the jazz studies department at the University of Oregon.

Drew Gress (bass) performs extensively with artists on the cutting edge of contemporary improvised music, and has toured in North and South America, Europe and Asia. He has served as artist-in-residence at St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia and at the Paris Conservatoire. In addition, Gress has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer and Chamber Music America.

Gerald Cleaver (percussion) has performed or recorded with many artists, including Joe Morris, Mat Maneri, Roscoe Mitchell and Miroslav Vitous. Under the name "Veil of Names," Cleaver released an album called "Adjust" in 2001, which was nominated for the Best Debut Recording Award by the Jazz Journalists Association.

This concert will be broadcast live on the SUNY Potsdam website at the performance time. To view the program and see other upcoming streaming performances, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/streaming.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution.

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