Rashied Ali Quintet

Rashied Ali - Drums
Josh Evans - Trumpet
Lawrence Clark - Tenor Sax
Greg Murphy - Piano
Joris Teepe - Bass

The latest edition of the Rashied Ali Quintet was initially formed in 2003. They first began performing locally in New York City at Sweet Rhythm in Greenwich Village and Tonic on the Lower East Side (which has since closed). Eventually the band started getting gigs outside of New York, first traveling to Philadelphia in 2004, then performing at the Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle, the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, the Savannah Jazz Festival in Georgia, and other major festivals and venues throughout the country. Then the quintet began securing international festivals - the Pure Jazz Festival in The Netherlands, Molde Jazz Festival in Norway, Blue Note Records Festival in Belgium, and international clubs like Pizza on the Park in London, The Half Note in Athens, and Porgy and Bess in Vienna, to name a few. Since then, the band has toured frequently throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Scandinavia, Greece, and the Caribbean.

Survival Records released two companion CD’s in 2005 – Judgment Day Vol. 1 and Judgment Vol. 2. Both received volumes of critical acclaim and significant national airplay. Live in Europe, which was recorded in Finland in 2007, was just released in March in 2009 – also on the Survival Records label.

One of the primary goals of the Quintet was to “make a difference in the music.” Utilizing the compositional contributions of known and not-so-well-known composers, and encompassing a variety of styles in jazz, the band often combined elements of free jazz and post-bop in order to develop a unique musical approach. In furtherance of the pursuit of a completely unique musical style, however, the focus of written material later shifted primarily toward compositions written by the ensemble members - most notably Rashied, himself.