Francesca Han, Ralph Alessi - Exude (2025) [Hi-Res]

The liner notes for Exude celebrate the exceptional musical dialogue between pianist Francesca Han and trumpeter Ralph Alessi, joining the lineage of iconic piano-trumpet duos such as Earl Hines and Louis Armstrong or Fred Hersch and Ralph Alessi. This collaboration is praised for its profound reciprocity, melodic sensitivity, and poetic intensity.

Having previously worked together in New York, Han and Alessi demonstrate an extraordinary understanding, crafting a serene and structured musical universe. Their compositions are marked by beauty, fragility, and emotional depth, captured in an exceptional recording that enhances their artistry. Balancing technical mastery with heartfelt expression, the duo creates music that is demanding yet captivating, deeply moving, and irresistibly seductive.

Jean-Paul Ricard, a jazz scholar and founder of AJMI, describes this album as a moment of grace and fulfillment in the art of the duo, urging listeners to savor its beauty and emotional power.

Francesca Han - piano, compositions
Ralph Alessi - trumpet, compositions

Tracklist:
1 Apollo Tokyo
2 Sage Advice
3 Arirang
4 Camargue
5 Humdrum
6 They Agree
7 Throwing Like A Girl
8 Diagonal Lady
9 Present (Improvisation)
10 Chrysanthemum (For Kikuchi)
11 Pannonica