Mike Ledonne & Groover Quartet + Gospel Choir - Wonderful!

2024

Mike LeDonne expands the sound of the quartet with the most beautiful instrument of all - the human voice by way of a 14 piece gospel choir! - Love is the organic thread that ties the repertoire together. You could say this is a love letter to my wife Margaret and my daughter Mary (pictured on the cover) to whom the title track "Wonderful" is dedicated. It is also meant to shine a particularly bright light on my daughter Mary, who is multiply disabled and truly "Wonderful". I chose the titles for their significance to my life's journey after my daughter Mary made her entrance 19 years ago - a journey that has proven to me, without a doubt, that love is the most powerful force in the universe. I can't even begin to list all the incredible things I've learned from her, but it was my love for her that led me to start the Disability Pride Parade in New York City.

The idea was to bring large numbers of the disability community out for a joyous day of celebrating who and what they really are: just another diverse and beautiful aspect of humanity. I hoped that once non-disabled people saw this big party coming down the street, they would want to join it, and that is exactly what happened. Once the hang was on, barriers and divisions fell away, and the word "disability" began to be redefined. When I started out, I had no idea how to create a parade or a non-profit organization, but through Mary I found strengths in myself that I didn't know I had. When people thank me for my work creating the parade, I always tell them it wasn't me - it was Mary.

Mike LeDonne