Joe Farnsworth

Joe Farnsworth is already regarded as one of the top jazz drummers in the world, but as far as he is concerned, he is just getting started. He is dedicated to the great tradition of jazz drumming as conceived by men like Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Billy Higgins and Arthur Taylor and it keeps him in the practice room trying to continue and extend it.

Joe was born on February 21, 1968 in South Hadley, Massachusetts into an unusually musical family. His father was a renowned music teacher who immersed his five sons, and it became clear early on that, Joe as the youngest would choose a career in music and would ultimately be a great success. His eldest brother, John, a renowned trombone and saxophone player, exposed him at the age of 12, to the music of Count Basie, John Coltrain, Charlie Parker and the drumming of Tony Williams which led Joe to seek lessons with Alan Dawson out of Boston.

Ultimately enrolling in William Patterson College in New Jersey, he met and befriended Harold Mabern who introduced him to tenor saxophonist George Coleman. Both Harold and George became major influences on Farnsworth's playing. During this time, Joe also sought out and studied with Art Taylor and became friends with saxophonist Eric Alexander.

After moving to New York City with brother James, a saxophonist for Ray Charles (1992-1999) when he unexpectedly passed away, Joe became the leader on Friday and Saturday nights as the infamous jazz club Augie's (now Smoke) where he would meet and play with Junior Cook, Cecil Payne, John Ore, Big John Patton, Harold Mabern, Eddie Henderson and John Jenkins. Joe's undeniable talent and hard work ethic started to pay off. He began working with Jon Hendriks in 1992 and then with Diana Krall off and on until he became a full member for a year and half from 1999-2000.

Joe Farnsworth is now known as one of the most recorded drummers on the scene, with over 70 cd's behind him, for musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Cedar Walton, Pharoah Sanders, Eric Alexander and Benny Golson. His first recording as a leader, "Beautiful Friendship" (Crisscross Records) featured pianist Cedar Walton and trumpeteer Eddie Henderson while his second, "It's Prime Time" (88 Records) included special guest artists Ron Carter, Curtis Fuller, Benny Golson and Harold Mabern, Jr.

At 38, Joe has already performed on most of the greatest American and international stages. He appears regularly at New York City clubs like The Village Vanguard (Wynton Marsalis, Cedar Walton), Blue Note (Johnny Griffin, Horace Silver), Birdland (Lou Donaldson), Iridium (George Coleman, Pharoah Sanders) and Jazz at Lincoln Center (Wynton Marsalis). In any given year he is likely to be found backing major artists at the leading jazz clubs and festivals all over the world.

Jeff Rupert: It Gets Better

Read "It Gets Better" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
November 14, 2024

Florida-based tenor saxophonist Jeff Rupert leads a superlative quartet on It Gets Better, a graceful and charming album recorded September 2021 at the renowned Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey. While comparisons to other musicians are as a rule less than viable, the striking similarities between Rupert and the late jazz giant Stan Getz cannot simply be overlooked or ignored. As John Coltrane once said of Getz, “We'd all sound like that if we could." Not only can Rupert sound ...

Liner Notes

Cedar Walton One Flight Down

by Thomas Conrad
September 1, 2024

They are thinning out: the ranks of pianists who can trace their lineage directly back to primary sources like J.J. Johnson, the early Jazz Messengers of Art Blakey, and the Jazztet of Art Farmer and Benny Golson. In the last few years, we have lost Tommy Flanagan, Mal Waldron, Roland Hanna, Dodo Marmarosa, Russ Freeman, Frank Hewitt, and, most recently, John Hicks. Producer Bob Porter once said of Cedar Walton, “By the time he came to make his ...

Album Review

Emmet Cohen: Vibe Provider

Read "Vibe Provider" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
August 19, 2024

All round shaman, musical advocate, and positive vibe provider, Nigerian-born Michael Olufunmilola (Funmi) Ononaiye (1968-2023) was known and beloved by everyone in the artistic and social circles of Manhattan's music scene. He was an A&R rep at Atlantic Records. He was a DJ, percussionist, and chief programmer at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He had a deep effect on everyone. That effect can be viscerally felt on the way-too-good, Vibe Provider. It sails. It sweeps in on a hop ...

Album Review

Jihee Heo: Flow

by Paul Rauch
July 10, 2024

South Korean pianist Jihee Heo has been in New York City since 2009. She arrived to work on her Masters after studies in Amsterdam and has become a fixture on the Gotham club scene, often appearing with a trio or quartet sharing the bandstand with some of the city's finest players. Her new trio plus one effort, Flow (OA2, 2024), is in a way, a documentation of those club performances. Recorded by Maureen Sickler at Rudy Van Gelder's famed studio ...

Album Review

One for All: Big George

Read "Big George" reviewed by Joshua Weiner

by Joshua Weiner
June 5, 2024

Smoke Sessions Records, based out of NYC's Smoke Jazz Club, has a fascinating recording model: artists play a few nights at the club, take a day off, and then go into a studio such as the famous Sear Sound to record their repertoire for release. They been putting out some excellent material, the latest of which is the first album in seven years from the sextet One for All. The title, Big George, reveals what sets this one apart from ...

Album Review

Mike LeDonne: Wonderful!

Read "Wonderful!" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 27, 2024

Organist Mike LeDonne's latest recording, Wonderful!, is a labor of love on several levels. Of course, there is love of the music and love of accomplishing something that had not been done before--teaming a gospel choir with jazz quartet. Above all else, there is love for LeDonne's wife, Margaret, and daughter Mary who is disabled but, as LeDonne says, is nonetheless “truly wonderful." LeDonne wrote the album's title song for Mary, wherein he compares her to “a ...

Album Review

Mike LeDonne: Wonderful!

Read "Wonderful!" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
February 27, 2024

In jazz's rich tapestry, where tradition meets innovations, there emerged a convergence exemplified by the present release Wonderful! with the virtuosic Mike LeDonne's Groover Quartet + Gospel Choir, who embark on a transcendent journey into the heart of gospel- infused jazz. The project is informed by LeDonne's desire to offer a heartfelt tribute to his wife Margaret and daughter Mary to showcase the spirited and varied nature of the disability community. Participating in this harmonious affair are the long-time members ...

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Event

New Year's Eve With Joe Farnsworth at The Kitano

Source: All About Jazz
December 15, 2004

176

Event

Drummer Joe Farnsworth To Perform at The Kitano New York Hotel

Source: All About Jazz
September 9, 2004

(NEW YORK, NY) The 149-room Kitano New York Hotel has teamed up with 441 Records, a new and innovative record label with a reputation of supporting and promoting top quality jazz, blues and electronic music, to present two all-star jazz performances on October 1st and 2nd by the Joe Farnsworth All-Stars with special guest Curtis Fuller, as announced by Hans Basse, General Manager.

The performances, which officially kick-off the hotel's fall season weekly live jazz performances, coincide with the release ...
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Music Industry