CD review: Terkel Nørgaard – With Ralph Alessi 2019: Video, CD cover

Danish drummer and composer Terkel Nørgaard presents his group consisting of some of the key players in the Copenhagen scene and adding ECM-recording American star trumpeter Ralph Alessi on the lineup.

Not merely a “feature”, Alessi and the Danes form a coherent band unit capable of producing memorable and highly inspired contemporary jazz which links to the Nordic tradition of dynamic sound ranging from delicate minimalism to powerful avantgarde eruptions. The album Terkel Nørgaard “With Ralph Alessi” will be out via Helsinki’s We Jazz Records on May 17.

Culled from a total body of work including 21 sketches, the album presents a solid selection of seven compositions which place Nørgaard at the forefront of the current Nordic jazz scene. On the new album, the Danish trio plus Alessi achieve something that can always be regarded a remarkable feat. They deliver a highly inspired set of music which links the album onto the ever-evolving lineage of jazz music, and at the same time introduce a new band capable of stunning the listener in the here and now.

Tracklist:

1. One 05:29
2. Seventeen 03:57
3. Twentyone 06:32
4. Thirteen 03:39
5. Nineteen 06:24
6. Ten 06:59
7. Twelve 04:35

Terkel Nørgaard, drums
Ralph Alessi, trumpet
Søren Gemmer, piano
Jesper Thorn, bass