Lenny White
Encyclopedia
Leonard White III, better known as Lenny White (born December 19, 1949) is an American
jazz fusion
drummer
, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea
's Return to Forever
.
. He was a young artist and went to the High School of Art & Design in New York City. A self-taught, left-handed drummer on a right-handed kit, he began his career in local groups, and playing regularly with Jackie McLean
in the late 1960s. In 1969, he first appeared on Miles Davis
' historic recording on Bitches' Brew
and later in 1970 he played with Freddie Hubbard
on Red Clay
before joining Corea's Return to Forever
and Azteca
in 1972. A year later, Azteca dissolved and he became dedicated to RTF. For five years, he recorded a number of albums with Return to Forever
including the award winning No Mystery
and Romantic Warrior
. When the group split up in 1977 White signed with the Nemperor label (via Atlantic) and recorded two album
s as leader.
In 1978, he switched to Elektra for his album Best of Friends, before forming the group Twennynine
in 1979, with Carlo Vaughn (vocals), Jocelyn Smith (vocals), Skip Anderson (keyboards), Barry Johnson (bass), and Eddy Martinez (guitar). He later became one of the Jamaica Boys
, a group also including Marcus Miller
(bass) and Dinky Bingham
(vocals), and worked with all-star groups Echoes of an Era and Griffith Park.
White has played with Joe Henderson
, Woody Shaw
, Geri Allen, Gato Barbieri
, Gil Evans
, Jaco Pastorius
, Miles Davis
, and Stan Getz
.
With Return to Forever
With Urbanator
With others
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
's Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
.
Biography
White was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He was a young artist and went to the High School of Art & Design in New York City. A self-taught, left-handed drummer on a right-handed kit, he began his career in local groups, and playing regularly with Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
in the late 1960s. In 1969, he first appeared on Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
' historic recording on Bitches' Brew
Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew is a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in April 1970 on Columbia Records. The album continued his experimentation with electric instruments previously featured on his critically acclaimed In a Silent Way album...
and later in 1970 he played with Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
on Red Clay
Red Clay (Freddie Hubbard album)
Red Clay is a soul/funk-influenced hard bop album recorded in 1970 by jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. It was his first album released on Creed Taylor's CTI label and marked a shift away from Hubbard's long time recording affair with Blue Note Records and another shift toward the soul-jazz fusion...
before joining Corea's Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
and Azteca
Azteca
Azteca may refer to:* Azteca , a Latin based rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, United States* Azteca , a breed of horse* Azteca , a genus of ants* Azteca Records , a record label...
in 1972. A year later, Azteca dissolved and he became dedicated to RTF. For five years, he recorded a number of albums with Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
including the award winning No Mystery
No Mystery
No Mystery is the fifth studio album by influential jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever.Return to Forever's fifth album is their most varied. While the production is similar to the album's predecessor, Where Have I Known You Before, the sheer variety of compositions gives this record a...
and Romantic Warrior
Romantic Warrior
Romantic Warrior is the sixth studio album of fusion band Return to Forever.Romantic Warrior is the band's best selling record reaching eventual sales of 500,000 copies. It was the group's first album made for Columbia Records, which may have had a positive effect on sales...
. When the group split up in 1977 White signed with the Nemperor label (via Atlantic) and recorded two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s as leader.
In 1978, he switched to Elektra for his album Best of Friends, before forming the group Twennynine
Twennynine
Twennynine is the name of a music group formed in 1979. The group featured jazz fusion drummer Lenny White with Carlo Vaughn , Jocelyn Smith , Skip Anderson , Barry Johnson , and Eddy Martinez...
in 1979, with Carlo Vaughn (vocals), Jocelyn Smith (vocals), Skip Anderson (keyboards), Barry Johnson (bass), and Eddy Martinez (guitar). He later became one of the Jamaica Boys
Jamaica Boys
The Jamaica Boys was an American, Queens-based, funk trio, that existed in the late 1980s.One of their number, Marcus Miller, was Luther Vandross' writing partner on several of the latter's hits.-Members:* Mark Stevens...
, a group also including Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
(bass) and Dinky Bingham
Dinky Bingham
Dinky Bingham is an African-American singer, musician, songwriter, producer, and engineer....
(vocals), and worked with all-star groups Echoes of an Era and Griffith Park.
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
, Woody Shaw
Woody Shaw
Woody Shaw was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer and band leader, often referred to as the "last innovator" in the jazz trumpet lineage...
, Geri Allen, Gato Barbieri
Gato Barbieri
Leandro Barbieri , better known as Gato Barbieri , is an Argentinean jazz tenor saxophonist and composer who rose to fame during the free jazz movement in the 1960s and from his latin jazz recordings in the 1970s.-Biography:Born to a family of musicians, Barbieri began playing music...
, Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
, Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, and Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
.
Discography
- 1975: Venusian Summer (Nemperor)
- 1977: Big City (Nemperor)
- 1978: The Adventures of Astral Pirates (Elektra)
- 1977: Streamline (Elektra)
- 1978: Best of Friends (With the TwennynineTwennynineTwennynine is the name of a music group formed in 1979. The group featured jazz fusion drummer Lenny White with Carlo Vaughn , Jocelyn Smith , Skip Anderson , Barry Johnson , and Eddy Martinez...
) (Elektra) - 1980: 29 (With the TwennynineTwennynineTwennynine is the name of a music group formed in 1979. The group featured jazz fusion drummer Lenny White with Carlo Vaughn , Jocelyn Smith , Skip Anderson , Barry Johnson , and Eddy Martinez...
) (Elektra) - 1981: Just Like Dreamin' (With the TwennynineTwennynineTwennynine is the name of a music group formed in 1979. The group featured jazz fusion drummer Lenny White with Carlo Vaughn , Jocelyn Smith , Skip Anderson , Barry Johnson , and Eddy Martinez...
) (Elektra) - 1983: Attitude (Wounded Bird)
- 1983: In Clinic (DCI)
- 1995: Present Tense (Hip Bop/Koch)
- 1996: Renderers of Spirit (Hip Bop Essence)
- 1999: Edge (Hip Bop Essence)
- 2002: Collection (Hip Bop)
- 2004: Tribute to Earth, Wind and FireTribute to Earth, Wind and FireTribute to Earth, Wind and Fire is a tribute album to the R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire by Jazz artist Lenny White's Lenny White Project. Recorded on Feb 22, 1998, the album was released on Jul 27, 2004 on Trauma Records and was produced by both Dave Burrell, Lenny White and executively produced by...
(Trauma) - 2010: Anomaly (Abstract Logix)
As sideman
With AztecaAzteca
Azteca may refer to:* Azteca , a Latin based rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, United States* Azteca , a breed of horse* Azteca , a genus of ants* Azteca Records , a record label...
- 1972: Azteca (Columbia)
- 1973: Pyramid Of The Moon (Columbia)
- 2008: From The Ruins (Inakustic Gmbh)
With Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
- 1973: Hymn of the Seventh GalaxyHymn of the Seventh GalaxyHymn of the Seventh Galaxy is Return to Forever's third studio album.This was the group's first album with a rock influenced sound and without any vocals...
(Polydor) - 1974: Where Have I Known You BeforeWhere Have I Known You BeforeWhere Have I Known You Before is the fourth album by Jazz-Rock Fusion band Return to Forever.While the style of music has not changed much since the previous album, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, important changes have taken place in the band's sound and line-up. Both keyboardist Chick Corea and...
(Polydor) - 1975: No MysteryNo MysteryNo Mystery is the fifth studio album by influential jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever.Return to Forever's fifth album is their most varied. While the production is similar to the album's predecessor, Where Have I Known You Before, the sheer variety of compositions gives this record a...
(Polydor) - 1976: Romantic WarriorRomantic WarriorRomantic Warrior is the sixth studio album of fusion band Return to Forever.Romantic Warrior is the band's best selling record reaching eventual sales of 500,000 copies. It was the group's first album made for Columbia Records, which may have had a positive effect on sales...
(Columbia) - 2009: Returns
With Urbanator
- 1995: Urbanator (Hip Bop)
With others
- 1969: Andrew Hill's Passing ShipsPassing ShipsPassing Ships is an album by American jazz pianist Andrew Hill featuring performances recorded in 1969 but not released on the Blue Note label until 2003. The album features Hill with a large horn section performing seven original compositions.-Reception:...
(Blue Note) [not released until 2003] - 1970: Miles Davis' Bitches BrewBitches BrewBitches Brew is a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in April 1970 on Columbia Records. The album continued his experimentation with electric instruments previously featured on his critically acclaimed In a Silent Way album...
(Columbia) - 1970: Freddie Hubbard's Red ClayRed ClayRed Clay is a 1970 album by Freddie Hubbard.Red Clay may also refer to:* Red clay, a type of clay court in tennis* Ultisols, a type of red clay soil common in the U.S...
(Columbia) - 1973: Stanley Clarke's Children of ForeverChildren of ForeverChildren of Forever is the debut album of the fusion jazz bassist Stanley Clarke.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Stanley Clarke and Neville Potter; except where indicated# "Children of Forever" – 10:42# "Unexpected Days" – 5:53...
(Polydor) - 1976: Jaco Pastorius' Jaco PastoriusJaco Pastorius (album)This self-titled album was Pastorius' solo debut and was originally released in 1976. The album was produced by Blood, Sweat & Tears drummer/founder Bobby Colomby...
(Epic/Legacy) - 1976: Al Di Meola's Land Of the Midnight SunLand of the Midnight Sun (album)Land of the Midnight Sun is the first album by Al Di Meola, released in 1976. The complex pieces show Di Meola's range even at this early stage.-Track listing:#"The Wizard" – 6:46#"Land of the Midnight Sun"...
(Columbia) - 1977: Al Di Meola's Elegant GypsyElegant GypsyElegant Gypsy is the second album by American jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 1977. It was a follow-up album to Di Meola's debut release, Land of the Midnight Sun. The distinctive music in the album is a speedy fusion of jazz and rock, with lightning-fast guitar riffs intermixed with...
(Columbia) - 1990: The Manhattan ProjectThe Manhattan Project (album)The Manhattan Project is a jazz fusion album, the only recording to be made by a band of the same name comprising Wayne Shorter, Michel Petrucciani, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Gil Goldstein and Pete Levin. The arrangements were written by Lenny White and Gil Goldstein, and the album was recorded...
(Blue Note) - 1997: The Geri Allen Trio & The Jazzpar 1996 Nonet Some Aspects of Water (Storyville)
- 1999: Vertú with Stanley Clarke, Karen Biggs, Rachel Z and Richie Kotzen (Sony)
- 2005: Electric with Larry CoryellLarry CoryellLarry Coryell is an American jazz fusion guitarist.-Biography:Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington, where he played in local bands The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals, and The Flames. He also played with The Checkers from nearby...
, Victor Bailey - 2006: Traffic with Larry Coryell, Victor Bailey
- 2009: The Stanley ClarkeStanley ClarkeStanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
Trio - Jazz in the GardenJazz in the GardenJazz in the Garden is the debut release from the Stanley Clarke Trio, featuring pianist Hiromi and drummer Lenny White. It was released in 2009 on CD and vinyl...
(Heads UpHeads Up InternationalHeads Up International is an independent jazz and contemporary instrumental label located in Cleveland, Ohio.Founded in 1990 by Dave Love, Heads Up International has gained international recognition for its contribution to the world of contemporary instrumental music...
)
External links
- Lenny White's Website
- [ Lenny White] — biography by Scott Yanow for Allmusic
- "Return to Forever: Twelve Historic Tracks" by Walter Kolosky, (Jazz.com)
- Urbanator's Website
- Lenny White interview at allaboutjazz.com
- Lenny White, MusicTaste Website