Lenny White

by Scott Yanow
A versatile drummer, Lenny White is still best-known for being part of Chick Coreas Return To Forever in the 1970s. White was self-taught on drums and he largely started his career on top, playing regularly with Jackie McLean (1968) and recording Bitches Brew with Miles Davis in 1969. White was soon working with some of the whos who of jazz including Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Gato Barbieri, Gil Evans, Stanley Clarke and Stan Getz among others. As a member of Return To Forever during 1973-76, White gained a strong reputation as one of the top fusion drummers, but he was always versatile enough to play in many settings. After the breakup of RTF, Lenny White headed several fusion projects but none of the recordings (for Nemperor and Elektra) have dated well at all, emphasizing commercial funk. However his work with the Echoes Of An Era and Griffith Park all-star groups were been more successful and he has been a valuable sideman for a wide variety of projects.