Leonard "Lenny" White III is an American jazz fusion drummer who was a member of the band Return to Forever led by Chick Corea in the 1970s. White has been called "one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion".
White at the Oslo Jazz Festival 2016
White and Stanley Clarke, 1976
Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhunters, and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever is often cited as one of the core groups of the jazz-fusion movement of the 1970s. Several musicians, including Clarke, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Al Di Meola, came to prominence through their performances on Return to Forever albums.
Return to Forever in Rochester, New York, 1976. Left to right: White, Clarke, Corea, Di Meola
L to R: Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola, Chick Corea (drummer Lenny White not visible). Return to Forever performing in 1974 at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York.