There are magic moments when an artist can be said to have well and truly arrived. For Ralph Alessi, the release of Baida his ECM debut as a bandleader is just such a moment, despite his already extensive resume. Among those in the know, Alessi is renowned as a musicians musician, a first-call New York trumpeter who can play virtually anything on sight and has excelled as an improviser in groups led by Steve Coleman, Uri Caine, Ravi Coltrane, Fred Hersch and Don Byron, as well as leading his own bands.