Legendary drummer, composer, and New York City native Lenny White made an unannounced appearance at Le Poisson Rouge on Jan. 13 as part of the annual Winter Jazz Festival in NYC, discussing the making of Miles Davis’s landmark 1970 fusion album “Bitches Brew,” ahead of a live reimagining of the record that featured a host of notable players. White, who is one of two drummers, four percussionists, and thirteen players who performed on the seminal album, reflected on making the record, Miles Davis’s direction, and the current state of music. The discussion coincided with Davis’s 100th birthday later this year, and took place ahead of an appearance at Harlem’s Smoke Jazz Club alongside Buster Williams and Nicholas Payton Jan. 28 – Feb. 1.
Few artists have been able to authentically make their mark in both jazz and rock and roll, but between his work with Davis, Eddie Henderson, and as a member of Chick Corea’s Return to Forever alongside Stanley Clarke and Al Di Meola, White’s contributions to the advancement of both genres cannot be understated. He was honored in 2024 with a special 75th birthday celebration at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he reunited with Di Meola, and recently re-joined the stage with Clarke at a performance at NJPAC.
According to White, his involvement in the album was not planned, as Davis had initially recruited Second Great Quintet drummer Tony Williams to play alongside Jack DeJohnette, who passed away in October 2025. “Tony Williams said ‘no, call Lenny White,’” he recalled to the audience at LPR. “And that’s how I got to play on ‘Bitches Brew.’” White recalled how Davis drew inspiration from artists like Jimi Hendrix and James Brown with the aim of creating rock and roll music in his own vision. The compositions, which at points featured over a dozen players (essentially one band per ear if listening on headphones), were relatively open-ended, allowing a host of unique voices, including saxophonist Wayne Shorter, guitarist John McLaughlin, and bassist Dave Holland, to test the limits of each tune. “He didn’t give me any music; he hardly gave anyone music,” White remembered. Davis told the players to “think of this as a big pot of stew,” he added. “Miles Davis was a real good cook.”
White recalled an interesting anecdote regarding the recording of one particular track, “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down.” White did his best Miles impression as he remembered how, despite their best efforts, neither he nor DeJohnette could come up with a beat for the tune that would satisfy Davis. “Nah, nah, nah, you ain’t getting the chicken,” White said in Davis’s voice. White explained to the audience that it was percussionist Don Alias who came up with the beat, to the dismay of White, who was worried he had ruined his opportunity to record with Davis. Davis, however, was encouraging to the young musician who appeared on five of the album’s seven tracks and teaching White’s 2026 audience a valuable lesson. “I failed and I’m still on the record,” White said.
“Bitches Brew” proved immensely popular, reaching number one on the Billboard Jazz Charts and selling over one million copies worldwide despite the album’s experimental nature and perhaps off-putting title. White remembered having to correct friends and family who misheard the album’s title as “Witches Brew.” “For him to make an album with that name: a lot of cojones,” White laughed. Before White left the stage to make way for a reimagining of the album that featured players like Billy Martin, Nels Cline, and Dave Harrington, White was asked why he thinks music like that which appears on “Bitches Brew” isn’t made often today, as he contemplated whether or not the album could be successful in current times. “Having guts don’t make you no money,” he told the audience. “We have a president that all he wants to do is make money.”
Tickets for Lenny White’s Smoke performances are available at smokejazz.com; stay up to date with Lenny White on Instagram at @LennyWhiteMusic.