Jazz Articles about One for All

One for All: No Problem

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
December 18, 2003

This starlit group hits the ground running with drummer Joe Farnsworth's driving tribute to Art Blakey: it's an introduction that says, “we have arrived, folks, just buckle up and ride." Not a hard thing to do and great fun to boot. Recorded at New York's historic Avatar Studios in April of 2003, the sextet's combined mastery and energy are impressive to say the least. “One for All" includes some of the brightest lights in jazz today, who apply themselves to ...

One For All: Live at Smoke, Volume 1

by David A. Orthmann
February 1, 2002

As anyone who frequents jazz clubs will attest, there are nights that live on in memory for years after the last note fades. Aside from basic details easily recalled (personnel, tunes, arrangements, etc.), what really matters is the way the music made us feel. On these rare occasions, the sounds were so potent that, for a time, nothing else mattered and all worldly concerns yielded to the happenings on stage. In search of another incredible experience, we keep coming back ...

One For All (Venus: The End of a Love Affair

by C. Andrew Hovan
January 1, 2002

Things just aren’t what they used to be and we’re not just talking about life these days post September 11th. From a jazz standpoint, the renaissance movement that was ushered in during the ‘80s seems to have run its course in many ways. The corporate pressures behind the major labels seem to be tightening their belts when it comes to jazz product. For so many years the reissue market alone was astounding and the ripple effect helped support contemporary rosters ...

One For All: Live at Smoke- Volume 1

by C. Andrew Hovan
January 1, 2002

Growing out of a weekly jam session that drummer Joe Farnsworth used to lead at a New York club called Augie’s, the hard bop ensemble One For All now encompasses a pool of leaders who still manage to get together and cultivate the kind of musical empathy that they’ve developed over the years. After two initial albums for the Sharp Nine label, the group jumped ship to Criss Cross Jazz where the majority of the guys cut records of their ...

One For All: The Long Haul

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 1, 2001

Well, you know what they say. There aren’t any real jazz bands anymore and the opportunities for younger musicians to thrive in a working environment are few and far between. Sure, it’s not what it used to be, but all is really not as bleak as some would want us to believe. Guys like Jason Lindner, Dave Stryker, and the various members of One For All have found it possible to keep integrated units together for a period of time ...

One For All: The Long Haul

by David A. Orthmann
February 1, 2001

Working within the broad parameters of hard-swinging, harmonically sophisticated small-band styles from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, the music of the sextetOne For Allalso reflects the experiences of the individual members outside of their cooperative band. An incomplete but telling list of leaders who have employed and influenced various members of the crew includes Cecil Payne, George Coleman, Art Blakey, Jackie McLean, Junior Cook, Slide Hampton, and Louis Hayes.

On The Long Haul, the band’s second release for Criss Criss ...

One For All: Upward and Onward

by David A. Orthmann
May 1, 2000

Throughout Upward and Onward, One For All’s recently-released disc on Criss Cross, all of the important elements are firmly in place: imaginative arrangements of good tunes; tight ensemble playing; four strong soloists; and a rhythm section that never flags. Although the music is rooted in the hard bop continuum of the 50s and 60s (and occasionally goes beyond these parameters), every cut sounds fresh and vital.

Each of the band’s soloists finds ways to distinguish himself in a set of ...