He was a member of the Rashied Ali Quintet, working with Ravi Coltrane, Archie Shepp, Lonnie Plaxico, and Reggie Workman.
Ess was born Gene Shimosato in Tokyo, Japan, and raised in Okinawa[1] on an American military base.
While in this group, he played with Ravi Coltrane, Eddie Henderson, Carlos Santana, Archie Shepp, and Reggie Workman Ess's album Modes of Limited Transcendence (2009) received the 2010 SESAC Outstanding Jazz Performance Award.
Following this, Ess released Fractal Attraction (2013), which continues his exploration of voice in a chamber group setting.
Ess has also worked with Al Foster, Slide Hampton, Dave Liebman, and Clark Terry.