Mike LeDonne Groover Quartet + Gospel Choir: Wonderful!
Cellar Music Group

Coupling a gospel choir with jazz organ seemed like such a natural idea to pianist Mike LeDonne, he was understandably dumbfounded to learn that an album pairing the two had never been done before. The terrific recording he created in the wake of that discovery, Wonderful!, will have you similarly wondering why something so right took so long to materialize. In his words, “Most of the music I love came from the grooves and feeling of gospel and the blues, and when I've listened to gospel choirs swinging hard on a refrain or a vamp, I've always wanted to get a piece of it.” Now you can too, thanks to the fabulous album he, his long-standing Groover Quartet, and an eleven-member choir collectively birthed. One of the singers, Carolyn Leonhart, deserves special mention as it's she who assisted in arranging the choir parts.

Playing Hammond B3, LeDonne leads tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, guitarist Peter Bernstein, and drummer Joe Farnsworth and receives additional contributions from alto saxophonist Vincent Herring on one cut and percussionist Danny Sadownick two. At their hands the album's eight tracks spring vividly to life and overflow with an harmonious celebration of the human spirit. Complementing two originals by LeDonne are covers of pieces by Paul Simon, Ashford and Simpson, John Coltrane, and others. The album title, by the way, references the music, of course, but also celebrates LeDonne's love for his daughter Mary and his desire to honour her and other members of the disability community. His heartfelt appreciation for the person she is colours every moment of the project.

Choosing to introduce the album with Benjamin Hutton's “Let Us Go” was a masterstroke by LeDonne, the blissful gospel classic a perfect vehicle for the instrumental and vocal forces in play. Hearing the musicians dig deeply into the infectiously swinging groove, the saxes sweetly singing in unison, and the singers wailing and cooing with such conviction amounts to a performance impossible to resist. The soloing's tremendous too, with Alexander's scene-stetting turn flowing into Herring's towering statement. After Bernstein weighs in, the leader takes his own rousing moment in the spotlight. The live feel achieved also adds to the pleasure when the impression established is of all involved sharing the studio space and joyfully creating together.

The rewards come thick and fast thereafter, be it Farnsworth's crisp attack, Bernstein's smooth presence, or the leader's warm embellishments. The laid-back intro to LeDonne's title composition gives the choir a, yes, wonderful opportunity to showcase its sultry vocal textures, after which the organist, Alexander, and Bernstein sweeten the bluesy groove with gospel-inflected expressions. With Sadownick beefing up the furious rhythm attack, “Put It Back” packs a seriously soulful punch and finds LeDonne totally in his element as a soloist. Ashford and Simpson's “Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing” radiates joy, and Simon's iconic “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is transformed by LeDonne and company into a steamy, soulful shuffle.

March 2024