Jazz Articles about Mike LeDonne

Mike LeDonne: FiveLive

by Jack Bowers
February 17, 2009

How suitable that FiveLive should have been recorded at the New York City nightspot Smoke, as pianist Mike LeDonne's fiery quintet smokes from fore and aft and port to starboard throughout this pleasurable concert date. Of course, it's hard not to burn with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander manning the front line while long-term teammates bassist John Webber and drummer Joe Farnsworth provide the rhythmic power that drives the engine.

LeDonne, as splendid a composer as he ...

Mike LeDonne: FiveLive

by Graham L. Flanagan
September 19, 2008

Man, where the heck was I on Oct. 19th-20th 2007? I can't recall offhand my exact whereabouts, but it doesn't matter because I certainly wasn't present at the popular Upper West Side jazz haunt Smoke to experience the excellent sets that resulted in pianist Mike LeDonne's new live release FiveLive. LeDonne, who holds down a weekly gig at Smoke as the leader of a Hammond B-3 organ-driven groove session, delivers an extremely satisfying and eclectic hard bop experience ...

Mike LeDonne: On Fire

by CJ Shearn
January 14, 2007

The organ combo, a time-tested format, can stick to your ribs like a good meal. Organist Mike LeDonne, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth together are a tight working band, displaying all the qualities that make this formation classic and still relevant on their second Savant release, On Fire. LeDonne, best known for his stint in the late Milt Jackson's group as its pianist/musical director, has spent the past several years making ...

Greg Skaff: Ellington Boulevard

by John Kelman
November 3, 2004

Recording studios can be cold and uninviting places. Without the ambience of a live room and an eager audience, some artists are challenged to capture the fire and the energy that results from the feedback of a receptive group of listeners. As wonderful as many studio recordings are, they don't always succeed in portraying what the group is really about. Watching Hudson Music's video of The Peter Erskine Trio Live at Jazz Baltica versus any of the trio's ECM recordings ...

Mike LeDonne: Bags Groove (A Tribute to Milt Jackson)

by C. Michael Bailey
April 12, 2002

Bags...in all his glory...

Intermediate-sized jazz bands have always been interesting. Miles Davis' 1949 Birth of the Cool Nonette set the stage for all “little-big" bands. Pianist Mike LeDonne's tribute to Milt Jackson, Bags Groove, is performed in this same vein. Ledonne assembles a swinging little octet that effectively takes Jackson's better known compositions and pieces associated with him on a little highway driving. Everything is urbane and intelligent here, much in the same spirit of the great vibraphonist himself. ...

Mike LeDonne: Bags Groove

by David A. Orthmann
January 1, 2002

The survival of jazz as a living art form depends on the transmission of essential performance elements from one generation to the next, with the proviso that youth eventually contribute something new to the tradition rather than simply stay in place. Heeding all aspects of this process,Bags Groove, Mike LeDonne’s homage to the late Milt Jackson, is not your run-of-the-mill tribute record. A youthful veteran conversant in a number of jazz styles, LeDonne spent several years in the last of ...

Mike LeDonne: Then and Now

by C. Andrew Hovan
September 1, 1999

Throughout the history of jazz there have been a sizable number of minor poets who have contributed greatly to the richness of the music in all its styles and genres. Such pianistic talents as Herbie Nichols and Elmo Hope, to name just two, added much to the jazz legacy without gaining much popular appeal in the process. This neglect of talent is still a very viable reality today, with so many well-schooled players fighting for what is and has always ...