Optimism

This is the second album by One for All, an all-star sextet of young jazz veterans totally steeped in the hard bop tradition and group dynamic of Art Blakey and Horace Silver's classic ensembles. Eric Alexander, the rising tenor sax phenom, trombonist Steve Davis (Jazz Messengers, Jackie McLean, Chick Corea's Origin), and Peter Washington, the talented and ubiquitous bassist, are probably the best known players here. But all the band's members are respected figures on the New York scene with long lists of impressive credits. And these guys really know what they're doing, whether it's reworking standards like "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," "What Kind of Fool Am I?" and "These Foolish Things," or tearing through a number of fine neo-hard-bop originals.