Lenny White
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.
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[edit] Biography
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White was born in New York City. 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 albums 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, Victor Bailey, Al DiMeola, Larry Coryell, Jaco Pastorius, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, and Stan Getz.
[edit] 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 Twennynine) (Elektra)
- 1980: 29 (With the Twennynine) (Elektra)
- 1981: Just Like Dreamin' (With the Twennynine) (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 Fire (Trauma)
- 2010: Anomaly (Abstract Logix)
[edit] As sideman
With Azteca
- 1972: Azteca (Columbia)
- 1973: Pyramid Of The Moon (Columbia)
- 2008: From The Ruins (Inakustic Gmbh)
With Return to Forever
- 1973: Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (Polydor)
- 1974: Where Have I Known You Before (Polydor)
- 1975: No Mystery (Polydor)
- 1976: Romantic Warrior (Columbia)
- 2009: Returns
With Urbanator
- 1995: Urbanator (Hip Bop)
With others
- 1969: Andrew Hill's Passing Ships (Blue Note) [not released until 2003]
- 1970: Miles Davis' Bitches Brew (Columbia)
- 1970: Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay (Columbia)
- 1973: Stanley Clarke's Children of Forever (Polydor)
- 1976: Jaco Pastorius' Jaco Pastorius (Epic/Legacy)
- 1976: Al Di Meola's Land Of the Midnight Sun (Columbia)
- 1976: Don Cherry's Hear & Now (Atlantic)
- 1977: Al Di Meola's Elegant Gypsy (Columbia)
- 1990: The Manhattan Project (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 Coryell, Victor Bailey
- 2006: Traffic with Larry Coryell, Victor Bailey
- 2009: The Stanley Clarke Trio - Jazz in the Garden (Heads Up)
[edit] References
[edit] 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
