Ralph Moore was born in 1957 and first came to the attention of jazz fans when he moved from California first to Berklee School of Music and then to New York City in 1981. An accomplished tenor and soprano saxophone player he immediately joined the Horace Silver Quintet which at that time had trumpeter Brian Lynch in the front line.

He also began to get attention from Roy Haynes, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie and J.J. Johnson.