Back in the mid-'80s, drummer Joe Farnsworth, while a student at William
Patterson College, had the singular responsibility of organizing the
weekend sets for a small New York club called Augie's. Fellow Patterson
colleague Eric Alexander would eventually take part in that scene, as would
Jim Rotondi. By 1995, David Hazeltine, Steve Davis, and Peter Washington
were in place for the formation of One For All, a collective of
individualists who despite active schedules as leaders and sidemen come
together regularly to engage in this creative endeavor.
While the albums Too Soon To Tell and Optimism on the
Sharp Nine label brought the group's music to a worldwide audience, their
live performances would mainly stay with the environs of the New York area.
They did however, make a rare appearance at the 2000 Ford Detroit
International Jazz Festival. Along the way, the individual talents that
constitute One For All have become household names among those hip to the
young talents of today. Tenor man Eric Alexander, trumpeter Jim Rotondi,
trombonist Steve Davis and pianist David Hazeltine are all first call
musicians who have duly impressed listeners with their thoughtful styles
and a mainstream manifesto that contains ample proof that working within
the tradition need not be equated with trite replication.
As for bassist Peter Washington and drummer Joe Farnsworth, the two have coalesced into a
unit that breaths as one and will undoubtedly be considered some day among
such illustrious rhythm sections as Jones and Hayes, Chambers and Cobb, or
Garrison and Jones.
As a follow-up to Upward and Onward and The
Long Haul, the group's most recent release is Live at Smoke-
Vol. 1, in addition to a Japanese release on the Venus imprimatur
entitled The End of a Love Affair.
