Home » Jazz Musicians » One for All

One for All

One for All is a jazz sextet formed in 1997. The band comprises Eric Alexander (tenor saxophone), Jim Rotondi (trumpet), Steve Davis (trombone), David Hazeltine (piano), John Webber (bass) and Joe Farnsworth (drums). The band has been compared to 1960s-era Blue Note jazz and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

The cooperative sextet One For All was formed in 1996 in NYC at the legendary jazz club Augie's (now Smoke). Collectively, the band has forged a powerful, yet sleek sound which has become synonymous with hard-swinging, straight-ahead modern jazz. Individually, each member of One For All has earned a sterling reputation not only as a soloist/bandleader (via solo recordings and tours), but as a top-shelf, first-call player on the NYC scene.

As a band, One For All has worked hard to achieve their own unique sound, while at the same time placing a premium on assimilating the tradition from the masters. The group's members have played with a broad range of jazz icons over the years, including... Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton, Jackie McLean, George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Cecil Payne, James Moody, Jimmy Cobb, Louis Hayes, Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton, Jon Faddis, Charles Earland, Lou Donaldson, Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Pharoah Sanders, Johnny Griffin and Chick Corea.

Since 1997, the band has recorded 12 CD's and continues to garner rave reviews for their live performances in clubs, concert halls and festivals around the world. One For All has also recorded extensively for the Venus and Criss Cross Jazz labels.


Tags

5
Liner Notes

One For All: Blueslike

Read "One For All: Blueslike" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


As the timeworn adage goes, sometimes the best things come from situations where one is asked to function in less than ideal circumstances. When you have little time to analyze things and go with pure instincts, there's an air of veracity and spontaneity to the results that is seldom arrived at by any other means. Although the hard bop collective One For Allhas forged a shared identity through regular gigs and a growing catalog of recordings for several labels, including ...

5
Liner Notes

One For All: Live at Smoke Vol.1

Read "One For All: Live at Smoke Vol.1" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


Aside from the musical fireworks that make the enclosed sides noteworthy, there are additional factors that mark Live at Smoke as a major event. For one thing, this “on location" recording is one of the rare live dates to grace the Criss Cross catalog. Furthermore, it serves as a perfect summation up to this point of One For All's musical fortunes as heard in the same venue that fostered the ensemble's very formation. Back in the mid-'80s, drummer Joe Farnsworth, ...

6
Album Review

One for All: The Third Decade

Read "The Third Decade" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


Hard to believe it will be twenty years ago next year that the hard bop ensemble One For All debuted with Too Soon To Tell on the fledgling Sharp Nine label. Formed as a group that regularly played together at an uptown Broadway club called Augie's, each member was just at the start of their own budding careers. Even today, it continues to be a surprise that these gentlemen still find the time to assemble for the occasional record date ...

184
New York Beat

A Jazz Marriage: Smoke and One For All

Read "A Jazz Marriage: Smoke and One For All" reviewed by Nick Catalano


After 12 years of classic jazz bookings and extraordinary patron loyalty, Smoke deserves legendary status right next to Birdland (the old club of the 50's), Basin Street, The Village Vanguard, The Blue Note, and a couple of the old 52 St. clubs. In addition to having unique intimacy, a special staff who could give a seminar in how to run a jazz club and a sensible food and drink menu, Smoke has had the prescience to embrace the hottest hard ...

337
Extended Analysis

One for All: Incorrigible

Read "One for All: Incorrigible" reviewed by Sean Coughlin


One for All Incorrigible Jazz Legacy Productions 2010

One for All's Incorrigible showcases some of the best original writing the group has had in its 14 releases. It no longer sounds like a bunch of “young lions" thrown together in a recording studio. Cohesive and interdependent, these musicians bring out the best in one another, resulting in an album filled with thoughtful communication and high energy improvisation. “Bewitched, Bothered, ...

400
Multiple Reviews

Two by One For All

Read "Two by One For All" reviewed by Ken Dryden


One For All Incorrigible Jazz Legacy 2010 One For All Return of the Lineup Sharp Nine 2009 One For All is a collective of hard bop/straight-ahead players who have busy careers as leaders and sidemen, yet enjoy the time they are able to spend together, whether working on a new CD or performing around ...

288
Album Review

One for All: The Lineup

Read "The Lineup" reviewed by Ken Kase


Time was when jazz history was measured in terms of linear progress as artists influenced each other to create new sounds. Jazz, it has been said, fed off of itself in a constant state of progression, pushing the music to its limits. But times have changed, and this construct has been revised several times over as legions of musicians found their inspiration in established jazz styles and stuck with them.The Lineup is the eleventh release by One for ...

Read more articles
5

Performance / Tour

World-Renowned Smoke Jazz Club Announces March Concert Line-Up From One For All’s Album Release Celebration To Leading Female Artists Allison Miller And Mary Stallings

World-Renowned Smoke  Jazz Club Announces March Concert Line-Up From One For All’s Album Release Celebration To Leading Female Artists Allison Miller And Mary Stallings

Source: AMT Public Relations

Rated the #1 jazz club in New York City (Secret NYC), SMOKE Jazz Club welcomes both legendary and emerging jazz artists in March. The month begins with two of the great jazz artists of the past 50 years: pianist George Cables leads his Quartet (March 6-10) followed by tenor saxophonist George Coleman performing as special guest and influence of One of All’s new album Big George (March 14-17) on the club’s eponymous label SMOKE Sessions Records. Women’s History Month culminates ...

164

Recording

All-Star Collective One for All Set to Release "Incorrigible" on Jazz Legacy Productions, April 6

All-Star Collective One for All Set to Release "Incorrigible" on Jazz Legacy Productions, April 6

Source: DL Media

ALL-STAR COLLECTIVE ONE FOR ALL SET TO RELEASE INCORRIGIBLEON JAZZ LEGACY PRODUCTIONS, APRIL 6ALBUM SERVES AS LABEL DEBUT

Their band name suggests the Three Musketeers of 17th century Paris -- inseparable friends who lived by the motto “one for all, all for one" -- though it's probably more accurate to think of these six kindred spirits as the Rat Pack of jazz. Given their longevity, they might also be considered the Rolling Stones of jazz. After more than 13 ...

71

Performance / Tour

Smoke Presents ONE FOR ALL Tonight!

Smoke Presents ONE FOR ALL Tonight!

Source: All About Jazz


Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Third Decade

Smoke Sessions Records
2016

buy

Incorrigible

Jazz Legacy Productions
2010

buy

The Lineup

Sharp Nine Records
2006

buy

Blueslike

Criss Cross
2004

buy

No Problem

Venus Records
2003

buy

Videos

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.