Justin Tedaldi
, Music Q&A ExaminerAs a solo artist and a member of the Grammy-winning Return to Forever, drummer Lenny White has played with some of the biggest names in jazz, including his bandmates Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. As a trio, the group recently released an album documenting its unplugged tour of 2009 titled Forever (get a free fan-exclusive track from the album here), and this summer the band is touring under a new lineup with fellow virtuosos Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Gambale.
After capping a rapturous run in Europe last month, the newly christened Return to Forever IV is now trekking America and will host a two-night stand at New York’s Beacon Theatre Aug. 12-13 with support from Zappa Plays Zappa. In this exclusive interview, I caught up with White about his thoughts on the tour so far, his history of working with other jazz giants like Miles Davis, and the other supergroups he nearly became a part of.
The new album Forever finds you and your bandmates playing jazz standards and reinterpretations of your “fusion” repertoire in an acoustic setting. How comfortable is it for the group to play these tunes with a back-to-basics approach?
Chick, Stanley and myself are jazz musicians, and together we make a great rhythm section. This is what drives RTF. This approach is what separates RTF from other bands in this musical genre. We play jazz and we rock, authentically, no in-between. So it was easy.
Besides volume, what are the differences or nuances as a group between playing the electric numbers and the old-school tunes? Do you have more of a comfort zone with one over the other, or does it depend on the gig, project, collaborators, etc.?
I think all of those things come into play. I’m comfortable being the pulse behind a great jazz solo and driving a great rock solo. For me it’s the same, but a lot depends on the gig.
On the album’s recording of “500 Miles High,” you can audibly hear someone saying “oh my God.” What was the reason for that?
It might have been someone on the crew; we were too in the music.
As a composer, do you have a particular method when coming up with a song, like starting with a rhythm first, or has that changed over time?
As a composer, melody is king. I’ve been around great composers all my musical life. I’ve only composed three compositions where the rhythm came first, “Drum Boogie” on the Anomaly (2010), “Assault” on The Adventures of Astral Pirates (1978), and an eight-minute orchestral piece call “Ostinato.”
I really dig The Adventures of Astral Pirates, with its sci-fi storyline and comic book art. How did that come together at the time, and what were its biggest influences that helped shaped it into what it became?
I’m a big movie fan, and a sci-fi fan. I’m a fan of comics and graphic novels, too. I’ve always wanted to write music for films. I try to write music that creates images. I just wrote the images in words so people would see what I was seeing.
What have your impressions been so far touring with Return to Forever’s current incarnation?
Great musical experience. This band is a pleasure to play with and be a part of. We played a classical music festival in Germany that featured mostly instrumental soloists and some singers. We were the only electric band to participate. At the end of our performance, the festival organizers couldn’t stop giving us accolades about the performance. They said they were amazed by the combination of power and virtuosity.
You just wrapped up the European tour with a gig in Tel Aviv. What was that like?
Fantastic. We played in an old amphitheater in Caesarea, an ancient port city. It was a beautiful night, with a full house, and the crowd was genuinely moved.
Is there anywhere else in the world you’re still looking to play for the first time?
Yes, I’d like to experience Africa; I feel the need to go there.
How is it working with Jean-Luc and Frank compared with Al Di Meola on the previous world tour?
Not a fair question. I played with Al for quite some time and with Jean-Luc and Frank for less than a year. There have been a lot of music stories written with Al, and there are still musical stories left to be written with Jean-Luc and Frank. While different, both situations have been good.
In an earlier interview, Stanley Clarke told me that on this tour, the members of Return to Forever will spotlight more of their solo works. Which of your own tunes are you looking forward to airing in America?
Still considering this.
For the current American leg, Zappa Plays Zappa opens for Return to Forever. What are you looking forward to regarding the band’s performances?
Frank’s music combined virtuosity with comedy. I’m looking forward to experience this.
Do you have any favorite compositions of Frank Zappa’s?
“Peaches en Regalia.”
What was it like laying down tracks with Jack DeJohnette as a second drummer on Miles Davis’ landmark 1970 album Bitches Brew?
Miles didn’t think of it being first drummer, second drummer. There were actually four drummers, two drum sets and two hand percussionists. I had done things with two drummers before; my approach was to make it sound like one drummer with eight hands.
What did you think of the music you were all playing for those sessions that time, and what were your thoughts when the album became as successful and influential as it did?
This was Miles Davis. The music was a departure for him and from the other music being played at the time. I knew it was different, I knew it was groundbreaking, but it took me a couple of months for me to realize I was a contributor to an event in music history.
Of course, you worked with Chick Corea on that album in addition to a Who’s Who of talent. How did you originally join Return to Forever several years later?
Chick called me from Japan and asked me to play a week with [him] and Stanley in San Francisco at the Keystone Korner. I was in San Francisco working with a band called Azteca that included the Escovido brothers, Pete and Coke, trumpeter Tom Harrell, electric bassist Paul Jackson, Mel Martin on sax, and Neal Schon on guitar, amongst others. We played a great week of music and on the last day, guitarists Barry Finnerty and Billy Conners sat in along with my friend, Santana percussionist Mingo Lewis.
Chick asked me to join a new electric version of RTF but I said I would stay in San Francisco to play with Azteca. They went back to New York and got Steve Gadd to play. While I was in San Francisco waiting to do gigs with Azteca, a manager friend of mine asked if I would come jam with guitarist Neal Schon and bassist Ross Valory. We played and they asked me to join a band they were putting together. By this time, Steve decided he wanted to do studio work and Chick called me again to do RTF. I said yes and returned to New York. The band I didn’t become a part of was Journey.
Return to Forever’s 1976 album Romantic Warrior is considered by many to be its masterpiece. Why did Chick opt to record without you and Al just one year later prior to recording their final studio LP, Musicmagic?
Chick’s an artist, he wanted to change.
In 1976 you also played on the late Jaco Pastorius’ debut album, on the tracks “Continuum,” “Opus Pocus” and “(Used to Be a) Cha Cha.” How did you get involved in that, and do you have any favorite memories from the recording of that album?
Bobby Colomby, the original drummer with Blood Sweat & Tears, became an A&R [rep] at Columbia Records. He called me and asked me to do a few sessions with a new fantastic bass player. So I went to his studio and did a few sessions and then recorded a few more in NYC. I had a great time. Jaco was really a great guy and a fantastic musician. I remember recording a few takes and then going outside to shoot hoops. It was really a relaxed atmosphere.
Were you familiar with Jaco before recording with him? What did you think after he went on to join Weather Report and influence countless musicians around the world?
I was not familiar with Jaco before recording with him, but after he joined Weather Report, he became a big star. In 1976, after the breakup of RTF, [Weather Report’s] Joe Zawinul called me and said, ”Jaco really likes the way you play and we think it would be a good fit if you would come and join the band.” I had just released [my first solo album] Venusian Summer and I told Joe I’d like to try my luck as a bandleader.
The last time I saw you perform was earlier this year with bassist Marcus Miller as part of his Concert for Japanese Tsunami Relief in New York. Since Japan holds jazz in high esteem, what has playing in Japan meant to you throughout your career?
My first trip to Japan was in 1971 with Freddie Hubbard and Nancy Wilson. It was very deep to experience a totally different culture for the first time and then to also have the people really love the music you play. This was different from playing in the U.S. where pop music was king. The Japanese have always supported Jazz and it makes every trip to Japan great.
Finally, who are you listening to these days?
All the same artists I listened to when I started listening. They had so much information; it’s taken me this long to get it. Miles, Coltrane, Jimi, Ravell, Debussy, Led Zeppelin, James Brown, Puccini, Stravinsky, Monk, Horace Silver, Eddie Palmieri and a cast of thousands.
Return to Forever tours America through Sept. 24. For dates and more info, visit http://return2forever.com
Visit Lenny online at www.lennywhite.com
