His "New World Ensemble" (Ensemble Nuevo Mundo) is an acoustic jazz quintet that develops and expands the music of the Americas, erasing the boundaries between classical, jazz and folkloric genres. With a nucleus of violin, accordion, guitar, acoustic bass and percussion, they perform styles including tango, Afro-Cuban, bossa nova, choro, joropo, blues and jazz.

Alí also performs with a trio or quartet. The rhythms are sassy, the melodies eloquent. The inspiration, arising from the members' Latin American roots and passion for the New York music scene, is realized in refreshing original music and arrangements of classical and world music composers such as Heitor Villa-Lobos, Astor Piazzolla, Francisco Zumaqué, Airton Moreira, and others.

Alí is a much sought-after performer with such jazz and Latin luminaries as Regina Carter, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Chucho Valdez, and Dave Valentine among others. He has appeared in jazz festivals in the United States, England, Australia, the Caribbean Islands, and Venezuela, including the Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center Jazz Out Doors, JVC Jazz Festival, the World Music Festival in Puerto Rico and the Bacardi Sydney Festival. In New York, he is a member of Los Jóvenes del Barrio Latin-jazz and Charanga Band.

In addition to his chamber and symphonic appearances, he has given solo recitals at the Weill Recital Hall, the Venezuelan Embassy, Queens College, and the Donnell Library, among others, as well as in On-Broadway and Off-Broadway shows.