Mike LeDonne's The Groover Quartet + Big Band - It's All Your Fault (2021 HighNote Records)

Mike LeDonne belongs to an elite group of musicians — those who have mastered the piano AND the organ while creating original voices for each. However, here on It's All Your Fault, LeDonne sits down at the organ, puts his foot on the pedals and lays down some of the hippest organ licks you're likely to hear. Two groups are featured on this recording. Mike LeDonne's Groover Quartet has had the rare opportunity to play and record together for twenty years and counting. They had no difficulty integrating their sound into this all-star big band put together by Mike and his preferred arranger and conductor, Dennis Mackrel. Recorded in the famed Van Gelder Studio and actually using the original Hammond C-3 organ that Jimmy Smith et al. used for their recordings, the music within this recording is adventurous. It's a continuation of the groove that was established years ago by organists interacting with big bands and it reveals to us the Blues, the Rhythm & Blues and the Jazz that Mike heard coming up through the jazz ranks.

1. It's All Your Fault (M. LeDonne) 6:35

2. Matador (G. Green) 6:46

3. Rock With You (R. Temperton / D. Myers) 6:11

4. Still (L. Richie) 6:55

5. Party Time (L. Morgan) 5:34

6. Bags and Brown (M. LeDonne) 5:17

7. Biggest Part of Me (D. Pack) 6:20

8. Blues for Jed (M. LeDonne) 7:53

Mike LeDonne’s Big Band (Tracks: 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6):

Organ: Mike LeDonne (org)

Steve Wilson, Jim Snidero (as)

Eric Alexander, Scott Robinson (ts)

Jason Marshall (bs)

Jon Faddis, Frank Greene, Joe Magnarelli, Joshua Bruneau (tp)

Mark Patterson, Steve Davis, Dion Tucker, Doug Purviance (tb)

John Webber (b)

Peter Bernstein (g)

Joe Farnsworth (ds)

Mike LeDonne’s Groover Quartet (Tracks: 4, 7 & 8):

Mike LeDonne (org)

Eric Alexander (ts)

Peter Bernstein (g)

Joe Farnsworth (ds)

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Cory Weeds - O Sole Mio! Music From The Motherland (2021 Cellar Live)

Cory Weeds delivers a blistering set of Italian themed tunes backed up by one of the pre-eminent organs bands in jazz today!

The results speak for themselves: swinging bop lines executed by all, crackling rhythm section accompaniment and interaction, and an ensemble sound that underscores the values of swing, groove and participatory interaction over a carefully selected set of compositions--thanks to the support of Giulio Recchioni and the Italian Cultural Centre--that celebrate through reinvention and interpretation some great Italian music ("O Sole Mio," "Toma A Surriento"), as well as compositions taken from the rich history of contribution that Italian-Americans have brought to jazz and the American popular song (Marmarosa, Corea, Martino, Mancini).

Although to some, perhaps, the ideas presented here may appear on the surface to be disparate and tangentially connected: a jazz version of "O Sole Mio," a fifth instrumentalist added to a longstanding quartet or even the Hammond B3 organ in jazz (a relatively late addition to the music's instrumentarium with an unusual historical pedigree of roller rinks and makeshift churches), jazz has long been about thwarting normative conventions and looking for points of intersection that connect and unite players and sounds that span nationalities, race, language, gender and musical history.

1. O Sole Mio 07:14

2. Mr. Lucky 05:12

3. Speak Softly Love (Theme From The Godfather) 08:09

4. On The Stairs 05:55

5. Estate 07:22

6. Chick's Tune 06:11

7. Torna A Surriento 08:07

8. Moody Blues 06:01

9. Capricci di Camere (Whims OF Chambers) 06:22

Cory Weeds – alto saxophone

Eric Alexander – tenor saxophone

Mike LeDonne – Hammond B3 organ

Peter Bernstein – guitar

Joe Farnsworth - drums

Produced by Cory Weeds & Mike LeDonne

Recorded at Armoury Studios on October 6, 2019

Engineered, mixed and mastered by Chris Gestrin

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Mike LeDonne and the Groover Quartet - From the Heart (SAVANT RECORDS 2018)

Joining Mike LeDonne and his Groover Quartet on 'From the Heart' is the great drummer Mike Clark. After collaborations with Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton and others, Clark has influenced a generation of percussionists and brings his own unmistakable style to two of the tracks.

For three decades Mike LeDonne has been an exceptional avatar of the Hammond B3 organ. Forged by his impressive jazz apprenticeship, with the likes of Milt Jackson, George Coleman and Benny Golson, LeDonne comes from a long and distinguished line of masters of that instrument. And for eighteen years, he's lead the Groover Quartet his formidable foursome consisting of tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth.

1 Someday 5:41

2 From the Heart 8:22

3 You'll Never Know What You Mean to Me 6:58

4 Here Comes the Doctor 7:34

5 Come Back Baby 9:04

6 Fun Day 6:29

7 You Send Me 6:06

8 Then Came You 6:24

Mike LeDonne (Hammond B-3 organ)

Eric Alexander (tenor saxophone)

Peter Bernstein (guitar)

Joe Farnsworth (drums)

Mike Clark (drums on "From the Heart" and "Here Comes the Doctor")

Cory Weeds - Let's Groove: The Music Of Earth Wind & Fire (CELLAR LIVE 2017)

Exploring the upbeat, soulful melodies of Earth Wind and Fire, Let's Groove is a sizzling fresh take on this classic music for lovers of jazz, soul, and R&B music alike. NYC organist Mike Ledonne returns to the Cellar Live fold for his third collaboration with saxophonist Cory Weeds, with a stellar BC/New York band including Steve Kaldestad (BC), Dave Sikula (BC), and Jason Tieman (NYC).

Let’s Groove

Getaway

Devotion

You and I

The Way of the World

Imagination

Shining Star

Kalimba

After the Love Is Gone

Cory Weeds: alto saxophone

Steve Kaldestad: tenor saxophone

Mike LeDonne: Hammond B3 organ

Dave Sikula: guitar

Jason Tiemann: drums

Liam MacDonald: percussion (2, 5, 6, 8)

Mike LeDonne Groover Quartet - That Feelin'' (2016) SAVANT RECORDS

Mike LeDonne's splendid Groover Quartet has earned a cozy groove for itself, somewhere between fresh from the oven and the halcyon days of organ combos led by Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland, Jimmy McGriff, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Shirley Scott, Don Patterson and others. While embracing their essential groundwork on the one hand, LeDonne moves steadily forward with the other, lending a more contemporary voice to what has been a popular staple of the jazz repertoire for well over half a century.

Far from alone in this pursuit, LeDonne is aided and abetted by a trio of eloquent trend-setters: long-time colleagues Eric Alexander on tenor sax, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth. They are enhanced along the way by another modernist, alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, who adds warmth and color to "I'd Never Change a Thing About You," bassist Ray Brown's piquant "Gravy Blues" and LeDonne's fast-paced salute to alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, "Sweet Papa Lou." Speaking of "I'd Never Change a Thing," the first of LeDonne's three original compositions, the charming wire-to-wire gallop was written for his daughter, Mary, who has multiple disabilities and for whom LeDonne founded the non-profit Disability Pride NYC. Read more  Jack Bowers / aaj

01. I'd Never Change A Thing About You (7:21)

02. That Feelin' (7:34)

03. La La Means I Love You (7:52)

04. Fly Little Bird Fly (4:26)

05. Gravy Blues (6:20)

06. Sweet Papa Lou (6:13)

07. At Last (5:09)

08. This Will Be An Everlasting Love (6:52)

09. A Lot Of Livin' To Do (7:48)

Mike LeDonne: Hammond B3 organ

Eric Alexander: tenor saxophone

Vincent Herring: alto saxophone (1, 5)

Peter Bernstein: guitar

Joe Farnsworth: drums