Ralph Alessi's fourth release as a bandleader for ECM follows a unique album series that has been showered with praise from The New York Times to The Guardian. The British newspaper lauded Ralph's previous recording, Imaginary Friends (2019), for its elegant balance of moving, playful original compositions and intriguingly exploratory improvisation, declaring it his best album to date. However, It's Always Now is brimming with arguments that there is a new contender for that title. On his new album, Alessi's unique tone is as smooth, penetrating, and present as ever, surrounded by a newly assembled quartet: pianist Florian Weber, Bänz Oester on bass, and drummer Gerry Hemingway, who navigate the idiosyncratically swinging compositions of the trumpeter with a sixth sense. The album is not only a continuation of Alessi's work but also highlights Florian's development at ECM – this is already his fourth album for the label. His individual harmonic approach at the keys is as pronounced in the role of sideman as it is as a bandleader on his own recordings, and his deep sense of the pulse of Alessi's compositions enriches this session. The album was produced by Manfred Eicher.