Mike LeDonne's Groover Quartet: Turn It Up!

Turn It Up!, the latest recording by organist Mike LeDonne's superb and long-lived Groover Quartet, is actually a two- CD set that reprises concert sessions recorded twenty years apart—the first, You'll See!, Cellar Records, 2004) in Vancouver's now- defunct Cellar Jazz Club, the second,Turn It Up!) in 2024 at Ken Kitchings' The Side Door in Old Lyme, Connecticut. It is hard to say what is most remarkable about the concerts: that the group has preserved its uncommon mastery and rapport for two decades, or that its membership has remained unchanged for so many years (twenty-five and counting).

LeDonne's able companions need no introduction to well-informed jazz fans, as they are three of the busiest and most acclaimed musicians not only in the New York area but across the country and around the world. Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander is as dexterous and inventive as any of his peers, as are guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth. With LeDonne, they comprise a quartet whose fluency, dynamism and swing quotient are as consistently high and inclusive as any ensemble anywhere, regardless of size or makeup. And as Alexander, Bernstein and Farnsworth are so adept, they can play with anyone they choose; their long-standing commitment to LeDonne is noteworthy and commendable.

Alexander is arguably the gold standard among contemporary post-bop tenors, Bernstein a sleek and nimble guitarist along the lines of Herb Ellis or Tal Farlow, Farnsworth a strong and tasteful timekeeper, LeDonne a monster on organ or piano. What is perhaps more impressive is how well they blend, which they should, given that they have performed and recorded as a unit for roughly a quarter-century. While LeDonne and Alexander solo most often, they are equally at home in supporting roles, lending depth and color to the rhythmic impulses of Bernstein and Farnsworth.

Even though the set is named Turn It Up! for the concert recorded in 2024, it may be best to proceed chronologically; that is, to start this review by surveying the earlier session, recorded two decades ago, to see what contrasts, if any, there are between the two. Both concerts run for more than an hour, with seven songs on each disc, if one counts the brief (less than one minute) closer, "Trouble (#2)," from the earlier concert. One difference is the group's name; as the initial performance saluted the fourth birthday of the Cellar Jazz Club, the name "Groover Quartet" was replaced by "Anniversary Quartet" to mark the occasion.

LeDonne wrote one new number for each concert, "11 Years" for the Cellar Club gig, "Mary Lou's Blues" for the more recent Side Door event. Organist Jimmy Smith composed the title song for You'll See!, which also includes J.J. Johnson's soulful "Lament" and Ray Noble's oft-covered "Cherokee." The concert opens with the smoothly galloping "After the Love Has Gone" and also includes Victor Young's groovy "Delilah." The persuasive "11 Years" bats second, followed by "Lament" (lovingly introduced by Bernstein, who takes the first solo) while the hard-hitting "You'll See" earns the pivotal clean-up spot (and Alexander drives another fast ball out of the park). LeDonne and Bernstein also take powerful swings, as they do on "Delilah" and " Cherokee" (yet another fiery showpiece for Alexander's agile tenor, preceding decisive statements by LeDonne and Farnsworth).

The quartet resumes its swinging ways on Turn It Up!, digging hard into Ray Bryant's bluesy "Slow Freight" and brightening LeDonne's impassioned "Mary Lou's Blues" before accelerating the tempo on the lyrical "Love Don't Love Nobody" (which is slightly remindful of the Vincent Youmans standard "Without a Song"). A second ballad, Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley's plaintive "Who Can I Turn To" (from the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint—The Smell of the Crowd), leads to the breezy "I Love Music," graceful "This Will Be" (enfolding another marvelous solo by LeDonne) and closing "Blues for Edith," on which the ensemble shows its proficiency and class, as is true on every number.

These are stellar concerts, well worth scanning and savoring many times over. If a choice between the two had to be made, the verdict here would lean toward the earlier event, simply because of a slightly more pleasing choice of material. As to the Groover Quartet, it more than lives up to its name and reputation, no matter how many years have elapsed between concerts. Should you need proof of that, simply Turn It Up! and You'll See!

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