Moving to New York City proved fruitful. Ess's first 'gig' in New York was at Condon's with the Rashied Ali Quintet. The personnel included Rashied Ali (drums), Reggie Workman (bass) and Eddie Henderson (trumpet). Ess's collaboration with Rashied Ali has continued to this day. Rashied's guest spot on Ess's acclaimed release "Sunrise Falling" exemplifies Ali's shear technique and ability coupled with Ess's masterful compositional and accompaniment skills.