By Ed Enright | Published June 2026
By the time I got to track 3 of the latest outing from Ali Ryerson, I was hooked on her album concept and enthralled with her longstanding quartet’s musical chemistry. The group’s cover version of the Thad Jones classic “Three And One” — with flutist Ryerson, pianist Larry Ham and bassist Lou Pappas digging deep into the tune’s three-part harmonized line supported by drummer Tom Melito’s swinging bebop groove — struck me as a brilliant take on the intricate composition that was immortalized on the 1966 big band recording Presenting Thad Jones/Mel Lewis & The Jazz Orchestra. Intrigued and quite pleased by the uplifting vibe of the group’s interpretation, I immediately wanted more, and, boy, did this recording deliver. Ryerson, who has long excelled on C flute and alto flute in both jazz and classical settings, also treats curious listeners to six contrafact originals (“Chuck’s Tune/Solar,” “Flying In Space/Falling Grace,” “Before Today/Yesterdays,” “Let’s Call It Love/What Is Thing Thing Called Love,” “AliCat Blues,” “Boppin’ Low”), a groove-inspired original of her own (“Cold Snap”) and three beautiful Brazilian tunes (“Começar de Novo,” “Nada Como Ter Amor,” “Fé”) on this 11-track collection, the second release on her ACR Music label. The genesis of The Ali Ryerson Quartet dates back to the pandemic lull of 2020, when Ryerson began to take on writing projects — one of which was composing jazz solos based on the changes of popular standards to teach essentials of jazz style to her students in lessons conducted via Zoom. When touring started up again in 2021, she took those solos a step further by weaving them into her arrangements for the group’s live shows, sometimes pairing them with the original standards, and sometimes not. Ryerson’s rhythm section soon began to develop entire soli sections with her, and it became a whole “thing” worthy of further ambition, serious documentation and, ultimately, celebration. The topper to all this is the veteran flutist’s mature and complex yet irresistibly pleasing instrumental tone, a highly personal sound that meshes perfectly with her effortless mastery of the bebop language and a natural inclination to make everything swing.
