Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jim Snidero: For All We Know

Jim Snidero: For All We Know

By Dan McClenaghan
February 6, 2024
View read count

The cover photo on Jim Snidero's For All We Know features the saxophonist holding his horn out in front of his body as if he is offering it to us as a holy relic. Holy it is when he plays it; a relic it is not.

The album is Snidero's first recorded offering in a trio setting—sax, bass and drums. No chording instrument. His partners in chordlessness,

Peter Washington

bass
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Washington and

Joe Farnsworth

drums
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Farnsworth—bass and drums, respectively—are a perfect choice, guys who have played with everybody from

Art Blakey

drums
1919 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Art Blakey,

McCoy Tyner

piano
1938 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">McCoy Tyner,

Tommy Flanagan

piano
1930 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Tommy Flanagan,

Cedar Walton

piano
1934 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Cedar Walton and so many more. They were also Snidero's bandmates on the masterful Live At the Deer Head Inn (Savant, 2021). Some called that disc a masterpiece. They may have been right.

Snidero's tone is strikingly pure, showcased all the more in the spare trio setting. Tonal beauty stood out in his previous masterpiece, Strings (Milestone Records), released originally in 2002 and re-released in a slightly buffed-up form in 2021 on the Savant label. It is even more apparent on For All We Know, with the altoist playing the familiar standards, from the title tune opener through John Coltrane's "Naima" to

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker's (there has to be a Bird song here) "Parker's Mood." Throw in

Cole Porter

composer / conductor
1891 - 1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Cole Porter's "Love For Sale," Rodgers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine," and the old war horse "Willow Weep For Me" and you have a classic set, played with reverence and an unmatchable feel for melodic beauty.

2024's release of For All We Know sees Jim Snidero entering his fifth decade of jazz artistry. Excellent sounds from start to finish, especially his Savant Records output that began in 2007 with Tippin'. His sound—like Charlie Parkers,' Art Peppers' and Lee Konitz's—is something special, like that holy relic he is holding out is made of gold, the twenty-four-carat type.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

For All We Know; Naima; Blackberry Winter; Parker's Mood; Willow Weep for Me; My Funny Valentine; You Go to My Head.

Personnel

Jim Snidero

saxophone, alto

Peter Washington

bass

Joe Farnsworth

drums

Album information

Title: For All We Know | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Savant Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Muriel Grossmann Explores A Musical ...
< Previous

Compassion
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.