That's What's Up Mike LeDonne, Eric Alexander, Jeremy Pelt, Vincent Herring, Alexander Claffy, Kenny Washington

• 1 JB 05:26
• 2 That's Whats Up 07:29
• 3 Shadows 07:26
• 4 Groundation 07:12
• 5 It's Magic 07:08
• 6 Blues For All 07:43
• 7 Continuum 10:26
• 8 My One And Only Love 05:22
• 9 Lord Walton 07:55
• 10 You’ll Never Know What You Mean To Me 07:58
• Total Runtime 01:14:05

Info for That's What's Up

Blue chip ensemble casting, winging improvisations that are solidly rooted in the blues, original compositions that add much to the ever-expanding repertoire of the modern jazz canon! These are the components that you look for in ANY recording and they're all available in abundance on That's What's Up by the Heavy Hitters.

For many jazz listeners, it is exactly this: the capturing of real feelings and deep emotive performances that often makes live recordings such as this so special. For Mike LeDonne some of his favorite jazz recordings were recorded live. The playing is dependably great, of course, but there is a "lighting in a bottle" quality to many of these sides that manifest as new discoveries are made with every subsequent listen

This recording was made at the end of a 2 week tour that ended up at one of the world's finest jazz clubs - Frankies. It was also my good friend and co-producer Cory Weeds' 50th birthday celebration.

The Heavy Hitters:
Mike LeDonne, piano
Eric Alexander, tenor saxophone
Jeremy Pelt, trumpet
Vincent Herring, alto saxophone
Alexander Claffy, bass
Kenny Washington, drums

Recorded at Frankie’s Jazz Club in Vancouver, BC on December 15th, 16th & 17th, 2023
Engineered by Sheldon Zaharko
Edited, mixed and mastered by Chris Sulit
Produced by Mike LeDonne and Cory Weeds
Executive Producer: Cory Weeds, Raymon Torchinsky, John Bennett, Jed Paradies, Patrick Julian & Yvonne DeTroye

The Heavy Hitters
is the eponymous album from a brand-new sextet featuring some of the most established players in the jazz game. The group is led by Mike LeDonne, New York-based bop pianist best known for his sideman work with Milt Jackson and Benny Golson. His partner in crime, Eric Alexander (himself a first-rate soloist working with Harold Mabern amongst others) was his quartet-mate on a well-received series of releases on the Venus label in the mid-2000’s. The two friends came together for this, their first sextet release as leaders, featuring a set composed entirely of originals.

The Heavy Hitters present compositions calling upon the timelessness of old Blue Note sounds through a vibrant and formidable all-original collection. Coming together for their first date as an ensemble, they show their deep knowledge of the jazz tradition, to which they add a classy, life-affirming 21st Century touch.

This project began with the express intention of emulating some of their jazz heroes, with a modern-day twist. “It’s not to look back, but to say ‘this is still relevant because this is happening right now. It’s pretty much what we’ve been doing our whole lives,” the group says about their philosophical approach to tradition. There are various nods to that history, from track titles referencing various jazz titans, to the album art, which evokes Reid Miles’ classic Blue Note graphics.

The music is built to tickle your mind, hit you in the heart and get your head swaying back and forth. The Heavy Hitters have been swinging hard their whole lives! It’s a true “Jazz” sound, recorded by some of the greatest jazz musicians of their generation.

"Together, these two ‘Heavy Hitters’ offer us a smokin’ hot production featuring five other heavy-hitters and a product plush with crème de la crème of both musicianship and original compositions." - Dee Dee McNeil, Musical Memoirs

This album contains no booklet.