Peter Bernstein Archive

Some great jazz from a B-3 quartet.

by John Sunier | May 13, 2014 | Jazz CD Reviews

Mike LeDonne – I Love Music – Savant Recordings SCD 2135, 53:38 [5/11/14] ****1/2: (Mike Ledonne – B-3 organ; Eric Alexander – tenor saxophone; Peter Bernstein – guitar; Joe Farnsworth – drums) Like many jazz organists, Mike Ledonne started out on piano. Growing up around the family music store where his father Micki played jazz guitar, his path to music was inevitable. After graduating from The New England Conservatory, he moved to New York and became a fixture in jazz circles. Earlier in his career, he established himself as a sought-after pianist, playing with Benny Goodman, the Art-Farmer-Clifford Jordan Quartet, Dizzy Gillespie, Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Rollins. His eleven-year association with Milt Jackson and three recording projects with Benny Golson solidified his prominence as a sideman. But it was his transition to Hammond B-3 that launched his bandleader ascension. The Groover Quartet (with Eric Alexander/tenor saxophone; Peter Bernstein/guitar and Joe Farnsworth (drums) continue to be a must-see act appearing nearly every Tuesday night at New York’s esteemed club, Smoke, for over a decade. Their debut, The Groover (2010) reached the tip slot on the jazz charts for 14 weeks. The follow-up, Keep The Faith also garnered critical and commercial acclaim. […]