Ralph Moore

Having called the United States home since 1970, Ralph Moore ranks among the more accomplished tenor saxophonists of his generation, drawing clear inspiration from John Coltrane yet projecting a marginally warmer and more rounded timbre. While enrolled at Berklee he shared bandstands with James Williams and Kevin Eubanks; in 1981 he relocated to New York and quickly established himself alongside such veterans as Horace Silver, with whom he worked steadily from 1981 to 1985, Roy Haynes, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Knepper, Bobby Hutcherson, and Kenny Barron. Moore made his first appearance as a leader on Reservoir in 1985, went on to record several strong albums for Landmark, Criss Cross, Savoy, and Mons (the last with the L.A. Jazz Summit), toured widely with J.J. Johnson, and, since 1995, has held a chair in the Tonight Show Orchestra in Los Angeles.