American drummer
Lenny White
Birth name Leonard White III Born (1949-12-19 ) December 19, 1949 (age 74) New York City, U.S.Genres
Jazz fusion ,
funk Occupation(s) Drummer Years active 1968–present Website
lennywhite .com
Musical artist
Leonard "Lenny" White III (born December 19, 1949) is an American
jazz fusion drummer who was a member of the band
Return to Forever led by
Chick Corea in the 1970s. White has been called "one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion".
[1]
[2]
[3]
White has won three
Grammy awards , two nominations
[4] and one Latin Grammy.
[5] His song Algorithm Takedown won Best Song at the Cannes World Film Festival in 2023.
[6]
Early life and education
Born in
Queens, New York City , White became interested in music at a young age. While he was living at home, his father would take him to jazz gigs. A self-taught drummer, he started playing with groups on the New York jazz scene. Early on, he played clubs in Queens such as the Aphrodisiac, Slugs, and The Gold Lounge.
It was at The Gold Lounge where he had his first gig with saxophonist
Jackie McLean .
[7] During the late 1960s he began performing with Mclean around Queens. Through this, White was recommended to play on
Miles Davis ' landmark 1969 LP
Bitches Brew and feature on
Freddie Hubbard 's 1970 LP
Red Clay . During 1972, White joined
Return to Forever .
[8]
[9]
[10]
Career
White and
Stanley Clarke , 1976
In 1975 White released his debut solo album entitled ‘’Venusian Summer,’’which featured guitarists Al DiMeola and fusion guitar pioneer, Larry Coryell. Big City was released in 1977. During 1978 he released his Space opera inspired The Adventures of Astral Pirates and his third solo album
Streamline . He eventually formed the jazz/soul group
Twennynine who went on to issue three studio albums, 1979's
Best of Friends ,
Twennynine with Lenny White in 1980, and 1981's Just Like Dreamin' .
[1]
[2]
White then made a guest appearance on
Chick Corea 's 1982 album
Touchstone and produced
Chaka Khan 's 1982 LP
Echoes of an Era . He later released his 1983 album Attitude and co-produced
Pieces of a Dream 's 1986 LP
Joyride .
[1]
[2] White now teaches at
NYU Steinhardt where he has an ensemble as well as a lecture class on Bitches Brew called “The Miles Davis Aesthetic.”
[7]
[11]
Personal life
White has been a longtime resident of
Teaneck, New Jersey .
[3] He endorses
Vic Firth drum sticks and only plays his own signature epoch cymbals sponsored by
Istanbul Agop .
[12]
Awards and honors
Grammy Awards
White has been nominated for five Grammy Awards, of which he has won three.
[13]
Cannes World Film Festival 2023
Best Song Winner with Algorithm Takedown
[6]
Discography
As leader/co-leader
Venusian Summer (
Nemperor , 1975)
Big City (Nemperor, 1977)
The Adventures of Astral Pirates (
Elektra , 1978)
Streamline (Elektra, 1978)
Best of Friends (Elektra, 1979) - with
Twennynine
Twennynine with Lenny White (Elektra, 1980)
Just Like Dreamin' (With the Twennynine) (Elektra, 1981) - with Twennynine
Attitude (
Wounded Bird , 1983)
In Clinic (DCI, 1983)
Present Tense (Hip Bop, 1995)
Renderers of Spirit (Hip Bop Essence, 1996)
Edge (Hip Bop, 1998)
Collection (Hip Bop, 2002)
The Love Has Never Gone: Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire (Trauma, 2004)
Hancock Island (Chesky, 2008)
Anomaly (Abstract Logix, 2010)
Lenny White Live (BFM Jazz, 2013)
With
Chick Corea ,
Bill Connors and
Stanley Clarke
With Chick Corea,
Al Di Meola and Stanley Clarke
As Corea, Clarke & White
With Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke,
Jean-Luc Ponty ,
Frank Gambale
As producer
As sideman
With
Geri Allen
With
Azteca
Azteca (
Columbia , 1972)
Pyramid of the Moon (Columbia, 1973)
From The Ruins (Inakustic Gmbh, 2008)
With
Cyrus Chestnut
With
Stanley Clarke
With
Larry Coryell &
Victor Bailey
Electric (
Chesky , 2005)
Traffic (Chesky, 2006)
With
Letizia Gambi
Introducing Letizia Gambi (2012)(Jando Music/Via Veneto Jazz)
[15]
[14]
Blue Monday (RP / IYOUWE, 2016)
[16]
With
Chaka Khan ,
Freddie Hubbard ,
Joe Henderson ,
Chick Corea &
Stanley Clarke
Echoes of an Era (Elektra, 1982)
Echoes of an Era 2 – The Concert (Elektra, 1982)
With
Al Di Meola
With
Wallace Roney
With
Buster Williams
Houdini (Sirocco, 2001) – rec. 2000
Griot Libertè (HighNote, 2004)
65 Roses (BluePort Jazz, 2008) – rec. 2006
With others
1969:
Andrew Hill ,
Passing Ships (
Blue Note , 2003)
1969:
Miles Davis ,
Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1970)[2LP]
1970:
Joe Henderson ,
If You're Not Part of the Solution, You're Part of the Problem (
Milestone , 1970) – live
1970:
Freddie Hubbard ,
Red Clay (
CTI , 1970)
1970:
Woody Shaw ,
Blackstone Legacy (
Contemporary , 1971)
1971:
Gato Barbieri ,
Fenix (
Flying Dutchman , 1971)
1972:
Buddy Terry ,
Pure Dynamite (Mainstream, 1972)
1972:
Santana ,
Caravanserai (Columbia, 1972)
1973:
Curtis Fuller ,
Crankin' (
Mainstream , 1973)
1973:
Eddie Henderson ,
Realization (
Capricorn , 1973)
1975:
Jaco Pastorius ,
Jaco Pastorius (Epic, 1976)
1976:
Don Cherry ,
Hear & Now (
Atlantic , 1977)
1977?: Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, Happiness Heartaches (Warner Bros., 1977)
1986:
Eliane Elias ,
Illusions (
Denon , 1986)
1989: The Manhattan Project,
The Manhattan Project (Blue Note, 1990)
1989?:
Michel Petrucciani , Music (Blue Note, 1989)
1993:
Bobby Hutcherson ,
Acoustic Masters II (Atlantic, 1994)
1994:
Marcus Miller and
Michel Petrucciani , Dreyfus Night in Paris (
Dreyfus Jazz , 2003) – live
1994?: Urbanator, Urbanator (Hip Bop, 1994)
1999?: Vertú, Vertú (
Sony , 1999)
2001:
Ron Carter ,
Stardust (Somethin' Else, 2001)
2008?:
Marica Hiraga [
ja ] , Batucada: Jazz'n Bossa (B.J.L., 2008)
2010:
Jamey Haddad , Explorations in Space and Time (
Chesky , 2013)
2011:
Chick Corea , The Musician (Stretch, 2016)[3CD]
2019:
Charles Tolliver ,
Connect (Gearbox, 2020)
2021?:
Kenny Garrett , Sounds From The Ancestors (Mack Avenue, 2021)
2022:
Eddie Henderson , Witness to History (Smoke Sessions, 2022)
[17]
References
^
a
b
c
"All About Jazz: Lenny White biography" . allaboutjazz.com . All About Jazz.
^
a
b
c Yanow, Scott.
"Lenny White" . allmusic.com .
Allmusic .
^
a
b Kara Yorio (December 19, 2013).
"Teaneck's Lenny White to play four nights at Jazz Standard" .
The Record .
Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2016 . White, a two-time Grammy winner, is one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion. His first recording gig was with Miles Davis on the groundbreaking "Bitches Brew" album that was released in 1970.
^
"Artist Lenny White" .
Grammy Awards . February 13, 2011.
^
"Latin GRAMMYs" . Latin GRAMMYs . Retrieved May 4, 2022 .
^
a
b
"Cannes World Film Festival - Remember the Future | June 2023 Winners" .
^
a
b
"Fusion Star Lenny White" . Modern Drummer Magazine . Retrieved July 28, 2020 .
^ Chinen, Nate (August 3, 2008).
"The Return of Return to Forever" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ Reed, Ryan (February 12, 2021).
"Chick Corea: Hear 12 Essential Performances" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ Pareles, Jon (August 14, 2011).
"Jazz Fusion Heroes of the 1970s Resurrect Their Intricate Dynamics" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^
"Lenny White" . NYU Steinhardt . Retrieved July 28, 2020 .
^
"A Bridge To The Future: A Conversation with Lenny White" . New York Jazz Workshop . July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2020 .
^ O'Neill, Thomas (1999). The Grammys: The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to Music's Highest Honor . Perigee Trade.
^
a
b
Introducing Letizia Gambi - Letizia Gambi | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic , retrieved May 12, 2022
^
a
b
"Miles Davis News Introducing Letizia Gambi" . October 22, 2012.
^
a
b Micallef, Ken (June 2016).
"Letizia Gambi Cross-Cultural Mix" (PDF) .
Downbeat Magazine : |page=25.
^
"Witness to History" . eddiehenderson.bandcamp.com . Retrieved December 31, 2023 .
External links
International National Artists Other