Joe Farnsworth

Joseph Allen Farnsworth is an American jazz drummer.
Farnsworth was the youngest of five sons born to Roger Farnsworth, a well-known music teacher, trumpeter, and bandleader. His father introduced all of his sons to music of all kinds, but particularly jazz. His brothers included: John, James, Paul, and David. His brother James played baritone saxophone in Ray Charles's band from 1992 until his death in 1999., while his brother John is a well-respected jazz saxophonist who has played with jazz greats.
He attended South Hadley High School, Massachusetts, then William Paterson College, where he studied under Harold Mabern and drummers Arthur Taylor and 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, Jon Hendricks, Jon Faddis, George Coleman, Cecil Payne, Annie Ross, and Benny Green. He has played in the group One for All since 1995 with David Hazeltine and Jim Rotondi, and worked with Benny Golson, Steve Davis, and Eric Alexander in the second half of the 1990s. During that period he also played with Alex Graham, Michael Weiss, the Three Baritone Saxophone Band, and Diana Krall. He was a member of Pharoah Sanders' band.
In July 2025, Farnsworth released the album "The Big Room" which rose to the top of the JazzWeek charts achieving 3 weeks at #2 and one week at #1in the weekly ratings.

Discography

As leader

Beautiful Friendship
It's Prime Time
My Heroes
Time to Swing
City of Sounds
In What Direction Are You Headed?
''The Big Room''
As sideman

With Eric Alexander

Up, Over & Out
Alexander the Great
Live at the Keynote
The First Milestone
The Second Milestone
Summit Meeting
Nightlife in Tokyo
Dead Center
Sunday in New York
It's All in the Game
Temple of Olympic Zeus
Revival of the Fittest
Chim Chim Cheree
Don't Follow the Crowd
Touching
Chicago Fire
The Real Thing
Second Impression

With Junior Cook

You Leave Me Breathless

With Steve Davis

Dig Deep
Crossfire
Vibe Up
Portrait in Sound
Systems Blue
Update
Eloquence
Say When

With Benny Golson

Tenor Legacy
Remembering Clifford
One Day, Forever

With Mike LeDonne

Smokin' Out Loud
Night Song

With Brian Lynch

Brian Lynch Meets Bill Charlap

With Harold Mabern

Don't Know Why
Mr. Lucky
Live at Smalls
Right on Time
Afro Blue
The Iron Man: Live at Smoke
Mabern Plays Mabern
Mabern Plays Coltrane

With Cecil Payne

Cerupa
Scotch and Milk
Payne's Window

With Pharoah Sanders

The Creator Has a Master Plan

With Jesse van Ruller

Here and There

With Cedar Walton

One Flight Down

With Michael Weiss

Power Station
Milestones
''Soul Journey''