Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Mike LeDonne: The Groover

462

Mike LeDonne: The Groover

By

View read count
Mike LeDonne: The Groover
So who knew that Mike LeDonne is actually a Jazz organist cleverly disguised as a pianist? Well, for starters, the folks who've been coming to see him perform regularly at Smoke, the New York City nightclub where he's been the house organist for more than a decade. As it turns out, LeDonne's not a garden-variety organist but an earnest Groover in the image of his main role model, the late Charles Earland. It's no accident that LeDonne has enlarged his trio (guitarist Peter Bernstein, drummer Joe Farnsworth) for this studio date by inviting tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander to sit in, as Alexander not only spent his formative years in Chicago as a member of Earland's quintet but made his recorded debut in 1991 on the organist's album, Unforgettable.

With LeDonne scorching the Hammond B3, Alexander adding heat to the proceedings at every turn and Bernstein and Farnsworth stoking the boiler room, this is an album that grooves emphatically from the outset—the sort of session that surely would have caused Earland to grin from ear to ear. Flag-wavers are among the staples of such narratives, and here we have two, both written by LeDonne—"Blues for McCoy (Tyner)" and "Bopsolete." To say they cook up a storm would be an understatement, but no more so than to argue that, say, "Rock with You," "Sunday in New York," "The Groover" or "On the Street Where You Live" are less impassioned in their own way.

All is not fire and brimstone, however, as the quartet slackens the pace and lowers the temperature on LeDonne's "Deep Blue" and Benny Golson's "Little Mary," the last written for LeDonne's daughter, who has Prader-Willie Syndrome, a relatively uncommon genetic disorder that affects one's metabolism and growth. LeDonne proves to be as fluent and resourceful on the organ as he is at the piano, while Alexander underscores—as though he had to—why he is one of the more captivating and creative tenor soloists on the scene today. Bernstein and Farnsworth have their moments too, and make the most of them with phrases that invariably command one's awareness and esteem.

By bringing into play the Hammond B3, LeDonne has nimbly laid bare a relatively uncharted aspect of his musical persona, and it's one that is sure to please. Long may he groove.

Track Listing

Rock with You; Blues for McCoy; Little Mary; I'm Gonna Make You Love Me; Deep Blue; Sunday in New York; Bopsolete; The Groover; On the Street Where You Live.

Personnel

Mike LeDonne
organ, Hammond B3

Mike LeDonne: Hammond B-3 organ; Eric Alexander: tenor sax; Peter Bernstein: guitar; Joe Farnsworth: drums.

Album information

Title: The Groover | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Savant Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Mike LeDonne Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter 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.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.