Results for "Mike LeDonne"

Mike LeDonne

Born: October 26, 1956

Pianist Mike LeDonne started playing piano at the age of 5 and was raised in his parent’s music store. By the age of 10 his father, a jazz guitarist, began booking him on gigs. He is now an internationally renowned pianist and organist with the unique experience of having played with a wide spectrum of jazz masters from Benny Goodman to Milt Jackson and Sonny Rollins. He has won praise not only from critics but from master musicians: Oscar Peterson picked him as one of his favorite pianists of today. At age 21, Mike graduated from New England Conservatory in 1979 and moved to New York City with the Widespread Jazz Orchestra

Blues on Top

Label: Self Produced
Released: 2022
Track listing: Blues on Top; Stolen Moments; Lock It in the Pocket; Willow Weep for Me; Angel Eyes; C Jam Blues; Jacob’s Ladder; Birk’s Works; Can’t Buy Me Love.

Mike Clark, Leon Lee Dorsey: Blues on Top

by Jack Bowers
September 6, 2022

While drummer Mike Clark and bassist Leon Lee Dorsey are the nominal leaders on Blues on Top, the album's subtitle —"featuring Mike LeDonne"—speaks volumes about its import and rationale. Without LeDonne at the keyboard, Clark and Dorsey would have to amplify their rhythmic talents to compensate for the absence of a secure melodic presence. Luckily, they ...

Music Is The Magic - Birthday Celebrations for Dorothy Ashby, Abbey Lincoln, Louis Armstrong And More

by Mary Foster Conklin
August 15, 2022

This broadcast presents new releases from Mike Clark & Leon Lee Dorsey, vocalist Lauren Henderson and saxophonist Jessy J, with birthday shoutouts to jazz greats Dorothy Ashby, Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Abbey Lincoln among others, plus a celebration of Joni Mitchell's remarkable performance at the Newport Folk Festival. Thanks for listening and ...

A Tribute to Dr. Lonnie Smith

by Dave Kaufman
June 14, 2022

The great master of the Hammond B3 organ, Dr. Lonnie Smith, passed away in September 2021 at 79. Smith enjoyed a more than 50-year career at the vanguard of soul jazz. His influence extended far beyond that genre to electronic, hip-hop, and funk artists. Smith remained at the peak of his powers as a musician and ...

C. Andrew Hovan's Best Recordings of 2021

by C. Andrew Hovan
January 11, 2022

Even as it seemed that jazz continued its trajectory into the outer limits, there was no lack of pure swinging excellence to experience this past year. Although many of these releases probably flew under the radar of jazz followers with wider ranging tastes, this reviewer always finds it necessary to remind us all how vital and ...

Jack Bowers: Top 15 Albums of 2021

by Jack Bowers
January 7, 2022

In spite of the Covid pandemic (and sometimes because of it!), 2021 was a splendid year for big-band albums, with eleven receiving 4 1/2-star reviews and one (Out on the Coast by the David Angel Big Band) earning five stars. The dominant dozen are listed here alongside top-rated smaller-group albums by Cory Weeds, Gerry Gibbs and ...

O Sole Mio! Music From The Motherland

By Cory Weeds

Label: CellarMusic
Released: 2021
Track listing: O Sole Mio; Mr. Lucky; Speak Softly Love ( Theme From The Godfather); On The Stairs; Estate; Chick's Tune; Torna A Surriento; Moody Blues; Capricci Di Camere (Whims Of Chambers)

It's All Your Fault

By Mike LeDonne

Label: Savant Records
Released: 2021
Track listing: It’s All Your Fault; Matador; Rock with You; Still; Party Time; Bags and Brown; Biggest Part of Me; Blues for Jed.

Mike LeDonne: It's All Your Fault

September 29, 2021

Mike LeDonne is one funky organist. Three cups of Charles Earland, two tablespoons of Jimmy McGriff with liberal dashes of Don Patterson. Then cook. Mike's Philly sound is always groovy and driving but not overdone. That's the thing about organ albums. You have to know when it's enough, and Mike knows. The beauty of his music ...