The unabashed exuberance of pianist/organist Mike LeDonne, the one-time Savoy Sultan, has struck again. He is flanked here by superb saxophonist Eric Alexander and an impressive collection of stars who summon up a kind of enthusiasm which feels as youthful as it is communicative. We find Jon Faddis and Jim Snidero, Peter Bernstein and Joe Magnarelli (these four are part of an exceptional Big Band).

LeDonne absolutely gives it his all. It’s Your Fault offers us eight masterpieces, both originals and standards such as Lee Morgan’s wonderful Party Time. Even more than Jimmy Smith, whom LeDonne’s talent inevitably brings to mind (*), the spirit of Lee Morgan blows is everywhere here, sometimes illuminating the ironic arabesques of Matador or the muted chords of Blues for Jed – even if Mike LeDonne’s very individual touch never disappears. This is, in other words, anything but a sterile tribute to the 60s. This is an album which reinvigorates bop through and through.

When an artist who is at the top of his game is also on top of the groove, there’s only one thing left to do: to thank Savant Records and the seventeen artists for this moment of pure joy.

(*) The album was recorded at Van Gelder Studios using the original Hammond C-3 organ played there by Jimmy Smith

David di Nota is a French writer based in London. His original French text is below.

“It’s All Your Fault”, by David di Nota

Quoi de neuf question bop ? Mike LeDonne.

L’exubérance décomplexée du Savoy Sultan a encore frappé. Entouré du génial saxophoniste Eric Alexander et d’une collection impressionnante de stars à l’enthousiasme aussi juvénil que communicatif, de Jon Faddis à à Jim Snidero, de Peter Bernstein à Joe Magnarelli (le tout formant un Big Band d’exception), le pianiste et organiste LeDonne s’en donne à coeur joie. “It’s your fault” nous propose huit chef-d’oeuvres, compositions personnelles ou reprises, comme le merveilleux Party Time de Lee Morgan. Plus encore que Jimmy Smith auquel le talent de LeDonne fait immanquablement penser, l’esprit de Lee Morgan souffle où il veut ici, illuminant tantôt les arabesques ironiques de “Matador” ou les accords en sourdine de “Blues for Jed” – même si la touche si individuelle de Mike LeDonne ne disparaît jamais. En lieu et place d’un hommage stérile aux années 60, cet album revigore le bop de fond en comble.

Quand un artiste au sommet de son art est en même temps au sommet du groove, il ne reste qu’une chose à faire : remercier Savant Records et les 17 artistes pour ce pur moment de bonheur.

Mike LeDonne’s Big Band

Organ: Mike LeDonne

Alto saxophones:  Steve Wilson, Jim Snidero

Tenor saxophones: Eric Alexander, Scott Robinson

Baritone saxophone: Jason Marshall

Trumpets: Jon Faddis, Frank Greene, Joe Magnarelli, Joshua Bruneau

Trombones: Mark Patterson, Steve Davis, Dion Tucker, Doug Purviance

Bass: John Webber

Guitar: Peter Bernstein

Drums: Joe Farnsworth

Arranged and conducted by Dennis Mackrel

Mike LeDonne’s Groover Quartet

Organ: Mike LeDonne

Tenor saxophone: Eric Alexander

Guitar: Peter Bernstein

Drums: Joe Farnsworth

The post Mike LeDonne – ‘It’s All Your Fault’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Remembering Peter Handke’s screenplay, what stays in the mind is that the angel chooses to forgo immortality in order to indulge fully in life’s temporary pleasures and sensations. And that is the idea which has framed the intimate structure of this solo album: these are musical moments which appear suspended in a void. And the disc’s utterly poignant finale, “Leben”, is a dazzling tribute to the fragility of life.

UKJazz News: You’ve always had something of a penchant for short pieces. Your melodic lines are always clear, but there’s something enigmatic about the way you hold the music suspended (I’m thinking of “Nouvelle” or the wonderful “Lamento” in your fourth album with the trio Ways). It seems to me in this latest album you’re looking to explore this storytelling and almost literary aspect of your work further. How do you see “Parabole” in relation to your previous albums?

Gregory Ott: Recording in a trio is by nature an adventure that one goes on with other people. So after a series of them I felt the need to get closer to my own musical core. It’s something I wouldn’t have risked five years ago…or even three. I was already feeling an inner urge and a need to do it before a combination of circumstances – the Covid crisis, an invitation from a superb sound engineer, Philippe Gaillot, and receiving a proposal from a very good label based in Strasbourg, Jazzdor – came about, and all that suddenly made this project possible. It turns out that the trio experience, which I don’t regret at all, sometimes locked me into certain ways of thinking, musically. I realised there was a kind of intimacy missing between me and the instrument. So this time it was a question of writing an album which is as close as possible to who I am, to my DNA. And no doubt because of my classical background I do like things that are very structured, very written.

UKJN: The film “Wings of Desire” has in some sense become your partner in this inner world… How would you describe this reinterpretation? And why Wenders?

GO: “Wings of Desire” came out in 1988. I was 17 years old. I used to go to the cinema with my brother. I was overwhelmed from the moment I heard the trailer, thirty unforgettable seconds… this series of musical layers, and above all this language magnificently “interpreted” by Bruno Ganz. I was transfixed; I don’t have any other word for it. During my discussions with Philippe Ochem, the artistic director of Jazzdor, the question arose of defining a framework, an overall axis. The idea of “Wings” came up. How would I describe this reinterpretation? Good question! I would say, in all modesty, that I have reappropriated it.

UKJN: Another silent partner who has been with you since the beginning – or at least so it seems to me – is Esbjörn Svensson.

GO: Absolutely. He’s an absolute genius. And I’ve listened to Nils Frahm a lot as well. There’s nothing electro in my music, but his minimalism has influenced me a lot. I feel very close to this Nordic aesthetic. His piano “una corda”, with this incredible tone, very subdued… I’m not necessarily a fan of prepared piano, it’s not where I start out from, but I did want to explore the body of the piano, its organic aspect. I use my hands, sometimes a drum mallet, always with the idea of broadening and enriching the overall relationship I have with the piano. And this is what I intend to share with the public now in France, in Germany, and why not, in England too.

UKJN: We certainly hope so.

With this interview, we welcome a new contributor to UKJN: David Di Nota is a French writer based in London.

Album details for “Parabole“: Piano / composition: Gregory Ott; Recording and mixing: Philippe Gaillot at Studio Recall (October 2020 /Pompignan, FR); Mastering: Jean-François Untrau at Studio l’Atelier 65 (Rosenwiller, FR); Produced by Jazzdor; Executive Producer: Philippe Ochem; Photos: DR; Graphics: Helmo.Jazzdor

The post Gregory Ott – new album ‘Parabole’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.