Among his teachers, Mike LeDonne lists the great jazz theoretician and pedagogue John Mehegan but yet there certainly is nothing academic about his playing on KEEP THE FAITH.  Mike has held court at the historic Smoke Jazz Club in New York for probably more years than he cares to admit but this, his sixth recording for Savant Records finds him and his Hammond B-3 in the controlled atmosphere of the recording studio with his regular band featuring Eric Alexander on tenor sax.  Listen in as Mike and company romp, stomp and burn through an imaginative set of pieces by Charles Earland, Michael Jackson and Horace Silver.  Mike himself contributes a handful of originals and displays his considerable skills as a composer.  The guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth — first-calls these days for B-3 dates it seems — make KEEP THE FAITH an important addition to the organ discography; one that looks forward while remembering its roots, one that innovates while respecting the tradition.

MIKE LEDONNE, Hammond B-3 • Eric Alexander, tenor saxophone • Peter Bernstein, guitar • Joe Farnsworth, drums

Tracks: The Backstabbers • Keep the Faith • Big John • The Way You Make Me Feel • Someday We'll All Be Free • Scratchin' • Waiting for You • Burner's Idea • Sweet Sweetie Dee

 The Backstabbers

 Keep the Faith

 Waiting for You

 Sweet Sweetie Dee