Joe Farnsworth

**Joseph Allen Farnsworth** (born February 21, 1968, in South Hadley, Massachusetts) is an American jazz drummer.

Farnsworth went to South Hadley High School, Massachusetts, then William Paterson College. In William Paterson College, he studied under Harold Mabern, Arthur Taylor, Alan Dawson.  He received his BMus in 1990.

Following this, he moved to New York City in the early 1990s and played with Junior Cook (1991), Jon Hendricks (1991), Jon Faddis (1992), George Coleman, Cecil Payne (1993 and subsequently), Annie Ross, and Benny Green (1995). He has played in the group One for All since 1995. He's worked with Benny Golson and Steve Davis. In the second half of the 1990s, he worked with Eric Alexander, Alex Graham (1995), Michael Weiss (1996, 1998), the Three Baritone Saxophone Band (1997), and Diana Krall (1999-2000). He was part of the Pharoah Sanders' band.

In July 2025, Farnsworth released the album "The Big Room". This album was ranked #2 at the JazzWeek charts for 3 weeks. It was ranked #1 for one week.

### As leader

- _Beautiful Friendship_ (Criss Cross, 1999)
- _It's Prime Time_ (441 Records, 2004)
- _My Heroes_  (Venus, 2014)
- _Time to Swing_ (Smoke Sessions, 2020)
- _City of Sounds_ (Smoke Sessions, 2021)
- _In What Direction Are You Headed?_ (Smoke Session Records, 2023)
- _The BIg Room_ (Smoke Session Records, 2025)

### As sideman

**With Eric Alexander**
- _Up, Over & Out_ (Delmark 1993)
- _Alexander the Great_ (HighNote, 1997 [2000])
- _Live at the Keynote_ (Video Arts, 1999)
- _The First Milestone_ (Milestone, 1999)
- _The Second Milestone_ (Milestone, 2000)
- _Summit Meeting_ (Milestone, 2001)
- _Nightlife in Tokyo_ (Milestone, 2002)
- _Dead Center_ (HighNote, 2004)
- _Sunday in New York_ (Venus, 2005)
- _It's All in the Game_ (HighNote, 2005)
- _Temple of Olympic Zeus_ (HighNote, 2007)
- _Revival of the Fittest_ (HighNote 2009)
- _Chim Chim Cheree_ (Venus, 2009)
- _Don't Follow the Crowd_ (HighNote, 2010)
- _Touching_ (HighNote, 2012)
- _Chicago Fire_ (HighNote, 2013)
- _The Real Thing_ (HighNote, 2015)
- _Second Impression_ (HighNote, 2016)
**With Junior Cook**
- _You Leave Me Breathless_ (SteepleChase, 1991)
**With Steve Davis**
- _Dig Deep_ (Criss Cross, 1996)
- _Crossfire_ (Criss Cross, 1997)
- _Vibe Up_ (Criss Cross, 1998)
- _Portrait in Sound_ (Stretch, 2000)
- _Systems Blue_ (Criss Cross, 2001)
- _Update_ (Criss Cross, 2006)
- _Eloquence_ (JLP, 2009)
- _Say When_ (Smoke Sessions, 2015)
**With Benny Golson**
- _Tenor Legacy_ (Arkadia Jazz, 1996 [1998])
- _Remembering Clifford_ (Milestone, 1998)
- _One Day, Forever_ (Arkadia Jazz, 1996 [2001])
**With Mike LeDonne**
- _Smokin' Out Loud_ (Savant, 2004)
- _Night Song_ (Savant, 2005)
**With Brian Lynch**
- _Brian Lynch Meets Bill Charlap_ (Sharp Nine, 2004)
**With Harold Mabern**
- _Don't Know Why_ (Venus, 2003)
- _Mr. Lucky_ (HighNote, 2012)
- _Live at Smalls_ (Smalls Live)
- _Right on Time_ (Smoke Sessions)
- _Afro Blue_ (Smoke Sessions)
- _The Iron Man: Live at Smoke_ (Smoke Sessions, 2018)
- _Mabern Plays Mabern_ (Smoke Sessions, 2018)
- _Mabern Plays Coltrane_ (Smoke Sessions, 2018)
**With Cecil Payne**
- _Cerupa_ (Delmark, 1993 [1995])
- _Scotch and Milk_ (Delmark, 1997)
- _Payne's Window_ (Delmark, 1999)
**With Pharoah Sanders**
- _The Creator Has a Master Plan_ (Venus, 2003)
**With Jesse van Ruller**
- _Here and There_ (Criss Cross, 2002)
**With Cedar Walton**
- _One Flight Down_ (HighNote, 2006)
**With Michael Weiss**
- _Power Station_ (DIW, 1997)
- _Milestones_ (SteepleChase, 1999)
- _Soul Journey_ (Sintra, 2003)

## Other websites

- https://www.joefarnsworthdrums.com

- Gary W. Kennedy, "Joe Farnsworth". _Grove Jazz_ online.
- [ Joe Farnsworth] at Allmusic
- One for All at AllMusic