Mike Ledonne has had the unique experience of playing on the bandstand with a wide spectrum of Jazz legends that encompass the history of jazz. He spent his early years playing piano with swing masters like Benny Goodman and Roy Eldridge. He went on to work with the legendary Be Bop vibes innovator, Milt Jackson, for 11 years eventually becoming his musical director. LeDonne also spent time in bands with the likes of Sonny Rollins, Art Farmer and Clifford Jordan. He met the great Benny Golson in 1997 and spent the next 23 years in The Benny Golson Quartet. After Milt Jackson’s passing LeDonne joined up with modern Jazz innovators like vibist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Ron Carter and saxophonist George Coleman who he still plays with today. After 25 years of traveling the world playing the piano regularly with these giants LeDonne surprised everyone when he started playing a now historic gig at Smoke Jazz Club every Tuesday where he finally unveiled his talents on the Hammond Organ. He wound up playing organ with people like Lou Donaldson and George Coleman, traveling the world and recording with his band “The Groover Quartet”. He was nominated for “Best Keyboards” 2012 by the Jazz Journalists Association and won the Downbeat Critic’s Poll as “Rising Star” on organ that same year. The list of masters LeDonne played and travel with is extensive and includes such luminaries as Harry Sweets Edison, Clark Terry, James Moody, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Heath, Jimmy Cobb, Buster Williams, David Fathead Newman, Stanley Turrentine and Curtis Fuller. He’s on over 200 recordings and has 23 out under his own name. LeDonne’s most recent recordings, “Partners In Time” (piano) and “It’s All Your Fault” (organ) on Savant both went to #1 on the Jazz radio charts and remained there for 6 weeks. His piano skills caught the ear of the one and only Oscar Peterson who called LeDonne one of his favorite pianists of this era. Mike spent 4 years teaching at Juilliard, 16 years at the Jazz For Teens Program in the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) and is presently on the faculty at William Patterson University.