LENNY WHITE

Leonard White III, better known as Lenny White (born December 19, 1949) is an American jazz funk drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever and being one of the forerunners of jazz-rock/funk.

White was born 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 many of the greatest jazz musicians, including Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Gato Barbieri, Gil Evans, Jaco Pastorius, and Stan Getz.

Early in 2008 Istanbul Agop released the new 22" Lenny White Signature Ride. The Istanbul Agop Lenny White Signature "Epoch" Ride was developed via a collaborative process between Lenny, master Cymbalsmiths in Istanbul, Turkey and Istanbul Agop's product specialists in The United States.

According to White, the ride is a replica of Tony Williams' ride cymbal in the Miles Davis song Nefertiti.  The cymbal is made of B20 bronze and features unique hammering and lathing techniques which give the cymbal a dark, dry sound.

Most recently, Lenny White has reunited with former members Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Al Di Meola to form Return to Forever again. They are currently touring around the US.

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Lenny White...

A versatile drummer, Lenny White is still best-known for being part of Chick Corea's Return To Forever in the 1970's. 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 who's 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.

Source: AllMusicGuide

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b. Leonard White III, 19th December 1949, New York, New York State, U.S.A.

Lenny White was born in New York in 1949.

He began his career as a drummer, initially playing in local groups.

In the early 1970's he played with Miles Davis on 'Bitches Brew' before joining Return To Forever.

When the group split up in 1976 he signed directly to the Nemperor label (via Atlantic) for 'Venusian Summer' (1976), 'Big City' (1976) and 'Streamline' (1977). 

In 1978, he switched to Elektra for 'Best Of Friends', before forming a group Twennynine which comprised:

Carlo Vaughn (vocals)
Jocelyn Smith (vocals)
Skip Anderson (keyboards)
Barry Johnson (bass)
and Eddy Martinez (guitar) in 1979.

Recording as featured artist with the group, further Elektra albums included 'Attitude' (1983), including 'Didn't Know About Love (Till I Found You)'.

He later became one of the Jamaica Boys, a group also comprising of Marcus Miller (bass) and Dinky Bingham (vocals). 

As a drummer he has recorded sessions with artists including John Klernmer, Miroslav Vitous, Pharaoh Sanders, Santana and Bob James while he has also produced for Zuice ('I'm A Survivor'), Wax ('Do You Believe In Magic'), Pieces Of A Dream and Nicki Richards ('Naked To The World') amongst others.

Albums:

Venusian Summer (Nemperor 1976)
Big City (Nemporer 1976)
The Adventures of Astral Pirates (1978 Elektra)
Streamline (Elektra 1977)
Best of Friends (Elektra 1978)
Twennynine (Elektra 1980)
Attitude (Elektra 1983)
In Clinic (DCI 1983)
Present Tense (Hip Bop / Koch 1995)
Renderers of Spirit (Hip Bop 1996)
Collection (Hip Bop 2002)

Source: http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Lenny%20White.html

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On The Original One...

Best known as the drummer in the recently reunited RETURN TO FOREVER, Lenny White is so much more. Along with fellow drummers Tony Williams and Billy Cobham, Lenny is rightly considered one of the founding fathers of FUSION JAZZ ... and distinguishing himself even more, Lenny moved on to lead bands and projects that covered the entire musical spectrum.

Source: http://www.myspace.com/lennywhitemusic