On March 6, 2025 the life and music of Lenny White — the iconic GRAMMY-winning drummer, who is among jazz music’s most prolific and celebrated artists, producers, composers and sidemen — will be fêted at a one-night-only celebration filled with music and memories at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall.
Presented by Tzedakah 4 All, the event will feature performances in multiple combinations - Return to Forever w/ Stanley Clarke, Al DiMeola and orchestra conducted by Maestro Steve Mecurio, Miles Davis "Bitches Brew", "Red Clay", "Echoes of an Era", as well as exploring material from his illustrious five + decade career.
Laurence Fishburne will serve as emcee with appearances from fellow artists Dianne Reeves, Ron Carter, Buster Williams, Omar Hakim, Patrice Rushen, Al Foster, Mike Clark, Billy Hart, and Billy Drummond. Additional SURPRISE special guests to attend as well.
Lenny White, who turned 75 in December, spoke to WBGO's Doug Doyle about the unique celebration and his iconic career.
"I'm getting back together with my guys. Chick (Corea) is not here, but we're going to doing something great for him. I think all of it is going to be special these are really my friends. These guys and girls are really special to me because we made music before they were big stars, and that's what is really cool. There are people that will be there and play that most people in the audience won't know. But, that fact that we made great music together and some of that music that was made, they'll say I know that tune but I didn't know he or she played on that. So, I think it will be a great thing."
Four of five of Lenny White's top bass players will be there.
"Victor Bailey is no longer with us, but the other four will be there so it's really a special thing for me to be able to play with these musicians that I've made music with for a long time. If you were to follow the music that we made together, you can see that there's a lot of music that shaped how the music is today. Victor Bailey was such a great friend, great musician, and I saw him go through and suffer through certain things with his health. I would have loved for him to be there."
Gaining worldwide recognition in the 1970s as a member of Chick Corea’s fusion juggernaut Return to Forever, Lenny White got his start in the late 1960s with saxophonist Jackie McLean, and made his recorded debut on Miles Davis’ landmark 1970 album Bitches Brew. By the time White joined Corea’s band of virtuosos, he’d already been working alongside Andrew Hill, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, and Latin rock bands Santana and Azteca, developing a signature approach that blended lightning-fast post-bop finesse with a muscular groove inspired by rock and the burgeoning jazz-funk movement. White won a pair of GRAMMYs with Return to Forever, including accolades for their 1975 release No Mystery and another for their 2009 live reunion recording, Returns.
In addition, White has done invaluable sideman work with Al Di Meola, Wallace Roney, Stanley Clarke, Geri Allen, Jaco Pastorius, Kenny Garrett, and dozens more.
He made his debut as a leader with 1975’s Venusian Summer, and has issued nearly 20 albums including the seminal The Adventures of Astral Pirates (1978) and his latest, the 2013 all-star live release Lenny White Live featuring Victor Bailey, Patrice Rushen, Bennie Maupin, and former Miles Davis bassist Foley.
More information about tickets and the event is available here.
