Touch of Time Funk Ralph Alessi’s fourth appearance as

Ralph Alessi’s fourth appearance as a leader for the label follows a singular album run that’s been met with nothing but praise from The New York Times to The Guardian

John Lee Hooker himself did not know his exact date of birth

and I intend to deal with the bulk of them in this month’s column

The 10 tracks here include 7 new Ross originals as well as pieces by John Coltrane (“equinox” and “central park west”) and Thelonious Monk (“evidence”) many of which are performed as spontaneous suites with the band moving seamlessly across the blues-imbued musical terrain

It seemed to strike a chord with people and I was blown away by the response to the album

Touch of Time Funk Ralph Alessi’s fourth appearance asA striking musical rapport between Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen and Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje is palpable in the duos quietly lyrical investigations on Touch of Time. These are delicate melodies and textures, flowing between two musicians, who are deeply in tune with nuances of tone shadings and the detailed development of a musical idea. In both freely improvised forms and carefully wrought themes, their instruments connect gracefully,