One for All (band)
Encyclopedia
One for All is a New York City
-based hard bop
sextet
, featuring Eric Alexander (tenor saxophone
), Jim Rotondi
(trumpet
), Steve Davis
(trombone
), David Hazeltine
(piano
), John Webber (bass
) and Joe Farnsworth
(drums
). The style of the group has been likened to 1960s
-era Blue Note
jazz
and has been described as being reminiscent of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
. Critic David Adler of JazzTimes
has dubbed One for All "New York’s premier hard-bop supergroup," while Matt Collar at allmusic called the band
"one of the foremost mainstream jazz ensembles to come out of the '90s."
began performing with the former four players in 1996 at the jazz club Augie's, which would later be re-opened as Smoke, a venue at which the group would eventually record a live album. Washington would later be replaced by John Webber, and the band has since signed to the Criss Cross
label. The name One for All is borrowed from the Jazz Messengers' last album.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
sextet
Sextet
A sextet is a formation containing exactly six members. It is commonly associated with vocal or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six similar or related objects are considered a single unit....
, featuring Eric Alexander (tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
), Jim Rotondi
Jim Rotondi
James Robert Rotondi is an American jazz trumpeter, educator and conductor.Born in Butte, Montana and the youngest of 5 siblings, Rotondi lives in Graz, Austria and performs there and internationally with several groups, as well as being a Professor at the University for Music and Dramatic Arts...
(trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
), Steve Davis
Steve Davis (trombonist)
Steve Davis is an American jazz trombonist who plays hard bop, post-bop, and standards. His primary influences are J. J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Slide Hampton, Jackie McLean, Freddie Hubbard, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane.Davis was raised in...
(trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
), David Hazeltine
David Hazeltine
David Hazeltine is an American jazz pianist.Today a major pianist in the New York and Japan scenes, David Hazeltine has been playing gigs since he was thirteen. He did not seriously consider going into music until right before college. Once he entered into the jazz world he was encouraged by Chet...
(piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
), John Webber (bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
) and Joe Farnsworth
Joe Farnsworth
Joseph Allen "Joe" Farnsworth is an American jazz drummer.Farnsworth was one of five sons born to trumpeter and bandleader Roger Farnsworth; one of Joe Farnsworth's brothers played saxophone in Ray Charles's band. He attended High School in Jakarta International School in Jakarta, Indonesia...
(drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
). The style of the group has been likened to 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
-era Blue Note
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and has been described as being reminiscent of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
. Critic David Adler of JazzTimes
JazzTimes
JazzTimes is a magazine that dates back to Radio Free Jazz, a publication founded in 1970 by Ira Sabin when he was operating a record store in Washington, DC. It was originally a newsletter designed to update shoppers on the latest jazz releases and provide jazz radio programmers with a means of...
has dubbed One for All "New York’s premier hard-bop supergroup," while Matt Collar at allmusic called the band
"one of the foremost mainstream jazz ensembles to come out of the '90s."
History
The group was officially formed in 1997 for an engagement at Small's, and recorded its first album Too Soon Too Tell later that year for the Sharp Nine label. Alexander, Rotondi and Farnsworth had all been acquainted in New York City as far back as 1988, and later Farnsworth introduced Davis to the other musicians. Hazeltine and Peter WashingtonPeter Washington
Peter Washington is a jazz double bassist. He initially played classical bass and played with the Westchester Community Symphony at 14. Later he worked with electric bass and in rock bands. He went on to study English at the University of California, Berkeley...
began performing with the former four players in 1996 at the jazz club Augie's, which would later be re-opened as Smoke, a venue at which the group would eventually record a live album. Washington would later be replaced by John Webber, and the band has since signed to the Criss Cross
Criss Cross Jazz
Criss Cross Jazz is a Dutch jazz record label, specializing in American jazz.Criss Cross was founded in 1980 by Gerry Teekens, a drummer and German professor. The label, which releases about 20 albums per year, is noted for its simple, block-color cover art...
label. The name One for All is borrowed from the Jazz Messengers' last album.
Personnel
- Eric Alexander - tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Jim RotondiJim RotondiJames Robert Rotondi is an American jazz trumpeter, educator and conductor.Born in Butte, Montana and the youngest of 5 siblings, Rotondi lives in Graz, Austria and performs there and internationally with several groups, as well as being a Professor at the University for Music and Dramatic Arts...
- trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Steve DavisSteve Davis (trombonist)Steve Davis is an American jazz trombonist who plays hard bop, post-bop, and standards. His primary influences are J. J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Slide Hampton, Jackie McLean, Freddie Hubbard, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane.Davis was raised in...
- tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - David HazeltineDavid HazeltineDavid Hazeltine is an American jazz pianist.Today a major pianist in the New York and Japan scenes, David Hazeltine has been playing gigs since he was thirteen. He did not seriously consider going into music until right before college. Once he entered into the jazz world he was encouraged by Chet...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - John Webber - bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Peter WashingtonPeter WashingtonPeter Washington is a jazz double bassist. He initially played classical bass and played with the Westchester Community Symphony at 14. Later he worked with electric bass and in rock bands. He went on to study English at the University of California, Berkeley...
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Joe FarnsworthJoe FarnsworthJoseph Allen "Joe" Farnsworth is an American jazz drummer.Farnsworth was one of five sons born to trumpeter and bandleader Roger Farnsworth; one of Joe Farnsworth's brothers played saxophone in Ray Charles's band. He attended High School in Jakarta International School in Jakarta, Indonesia...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Discography
- Too Soon to Tell (1997)
- Optimism (1998)
- Upward & Onward (1999)
- The Long Haul (2000)
- Live at Smoke: Vol. 1 (2001)
- End of a Love Affair (2001)
- Wide Horizons (2003)
- No Problem (2004)
- Blueslike (2004)
- The Lineup (2006)
- Killer Joe (2006)
- What's Going On? (2007)
- Return of the Lineup (2009)
- Incorrigible (2010)
Links
- One for All at AllMusic
- One for All on Sharp Nine Records
- One for All on Criss Cross Jazz
- JazzTimes review of Incorrigible
- JazzTimes review of Too Soon to Tell
- JazzTimes review of Optimism
- JazzTimes review of Live at Smoke, Volume 1
- JazzTimes review of The Lineup
- JazzTimes review of Upward and Onward
- DownBeat review of Return of the Lineup