Lenny White Interview: I Am Painting with Notes

“The highest dynamic for humans is trust”, reflects Jazz drummer Lenny White in this biographic interview. “When musicians get together and they realize that they have an affinity for each other and they trust each other, that’s when the magic happens.”
“I was interested in art before I was interested in music”, tells Lenny White. The painting was his first endeavor into the artistic realm, but eventually, music took over, as it was everywhere during his upbringing. To White though there are many similarities between music and art, for example, colors.
“Something with vibrant colors does something to people. Now I am painting with notes. The same way colors affect people, sound effects people. And the more advanced I became as a musician, I could take an idea, and by the notes that I chose I could really get this idea across to people.”
Born and raised in Queens, New York, Lenny White became interested in music at a young age. His father would take him to concerts in the local jazz scene. As a self-taught drummer, he started off his career playing in legendary clubs such as the Aphrodisiac, Slugs, and The Gold Lounge. In 1969, White first appeared on Miles Davis' historic recording Bitches' Brew. 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. 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, Stan Getz, and Chaka Khan among others. He has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has won three of them. Besides that White has been teaching at Columbia University and Harvard Law School among others.
Lenny White was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in November 2020.
Camera: Rasmus Quistgaard
Edited by Rasmus Quistgaard
Produced by Marc-Christoph Wagner
Copyright: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2021
Supported by Nordea Fonden
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[@TheSEBfamily]

Lenny White has been playing/painting masterpieces since I first heard him with Chick Corea and Return To Forever.

[@davidedwards7448]

Great interview Lenny!!

[@malenebe6860]

Great interview. Beautiful spoken. Please listen to the end.

[@ikkenhisatsu7170]

I've been a fan since the early 70s. We can talk about who's the best all day long, but he should be in the conversation. Amazing musician.

[@nem0763]

16:43 this is a fascinating subject and one that I imagine it might be hard for a lot of younger people to grasp. I'm 31, but I definitely resonate with White's belief that beauty depends on respect. I also agree with him that 21st century art isn't characterized by that position. I think a lot of people believe art is democratized when it's not a prerequisite to respect it - i.e. you've taken art out of the museum and the conservatory, and now everyone is a potential creator and critic. I think democratization is the right course, but ignorance and irreverence isn't the necessary result of that, and doesn't need to dominate the zeitgeist. Art cannot fulfill its full potential if it's presented as one product among many, which can be taken on any terms. Beauty is fragile and needs the right conditions to demonstrate itself fully. I think of Patti Smith, a foundational figure of punk, whose appreciation of art is as fine and profound as anyone's. I think younger people who grow up in this cultural milieu may have a hard time fathoming where White is coming from. I grew up at least partly before the internet age, in the middle of nowhere, and art moved the ground under my feet. It's in my blood to respect it. And though I'm not an artist, I'm also dodging raindrops.

[@haroldbrooks4235]

I've never put much thought into his album covers & the art work of them until now. I knew he studied art but never put the 2 together. Lenny has been my favorite musician for almost 50 years now

[@stevea.7406]

Saw him in Philly Bijou Cafe 1971
return to forever... hymn of the 7th Galaxy had just come out. I never saw anybody play so hard this was jazz fusion brand new at the time he was a nice guy, wrote me back a handwritten letter from Japan a year or so later explaining how he had cracks shaved out of his cymbals.

[@jamescox8402]

What an artist.

[@98groove21]

Painting with drum rhythm 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@morbidmanmusic]

Weird, I'm painting with drums...

[@orangerecords_studio]

a legend...looks lik e hes 30 ! :)

[@user-mr6xp6nk7q]

hero

[@motivationnation6969]

Hey Lenny, Giuovanni digs your style.@ TikTok MotivationMusication