Lenny White’s second solo outing is another treat for fusion fans, featuring the Return to Forever drummer in a variety of settings alongside the fusion leaders of the day: Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express, Santana. White once again shows exceptional range, from funk (Big City) to classical jazz (Nocturne), so that at no point does Big City repeat itself. (Well, maybe on the live track And We Meet Again, which I’m pretty sure I’ve heard before.) The songs date from different sessions, and the whole album feels like a carefully curated sampler designed to defy expectations from track to track. Even the short Interludes is a study in opposites, abruptly shifting from synthesizer and percussion to strings. In a sense, Big City feels like Lenny White speed-dating through the fusion scene, or maybe trying on different hats is the better analogy. You’ll be glad he brought Raymond Gomez along as his wingman (again), and Herbie Hancock elevates everything he touches. Drummers have been a surprising source of good music over the years (Billy Cobham, Tony Williams, Buddy Miles, Bill Bruford) and Lenny White can hold his own with any of them. White also doubles on synthesizer in these solo projects, which accounts for the rich arrangements. Unlike Stanley Clarke (who favored R&B/funk) and Al Di Meola (pyrotechnical fusion and tangos), White paints with a broader brush and shows no allegiance to any single mode of expression. Big City draws together different denizens of the jazz metropolis, passersby who engage your interest for a few minutes, making it a pleasant place to return. Other than the absence of an overarching science-fiction theme, it’s perfectly in line with Venusian Summer and Astral Pirates.
A1. Big City (Lenny White/Alex Ligertwood/Jack Mills) (5:22)
A2. Sweet Dreamer (Lenny White/Waldon Irvine) (4:42)
A3. Interludes: a. Egypt (Lenny White) (1:00) / b. Nocturne (Lenny White/Don Blackman) (1:24)
A4. Rapid Transit (Ray Gomez) (3:59)
A5. Ritmo Loco (Lenny White) (1:08)
B1. Dreams Come and Go Away (Alex Blake) (3:34)
B2. Enchanted Pool Suite (Lenny White): a. Prelude (1:31) / b. Part I (2:18) / c. Part II (5:39)
B3. And We Meet Again (Lenny White) (6:41)
Lenny White (drums, Eµ synthesizer, micro-minimoog, Oberheim polyphonic synthesizer, ARP string ensemble, acoustic piano, wallet, congas, timbales, roto toms, moog drum, cheese enchiladas, horn arrangements) with Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express (A1) [Brian Auger (organ, electric piano, acoustic on B3), Lennox Langton (congas), Alex Ligertwood (guitar), Jack Mills (lead guitar, solo)], Alex Blake (bass on B1/B3), cellos [Jesse Levy, Charles McCracken, Allan Shulman], Clive Chaman (bass), Lois Colin (harp on B2b), flutes [Ray Beckenstein, Harvey Estrin, Walt Levinsky], Michael Gibbs (orchestration on A3b/B2, acoustic piano on B2b, brass programming on B2c), Pat Gleeson (Eµ synthesizer on A2/B2, ARP synthesizer on A4, brass realization), Ray Gomez (guitars on A2/A4, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and 1st solo on B1, right guitar on B3), Jerry Goodman (violin on B2), Onaje Allan Gumbs (acoustic piano on B1), Jan Hammer (acoustic piano, minimoog, electric piano on B2), Herbie Hancock (Yamaha electric grand piano, electric piano on A2/A4), Waldon Irvine (horn arrangement on A1), Paul Jackson (bass on A2), David Earl Johnson (congas on B2c), Gary King (bass on B2c), Bennie Maupin (soprano sax on B3), Homer Mensch (double bass), Marcus Miller (weird bass on A3a), Neal Schon (guitars and 2nd solo on B1, left guitar on B3), Linda Tillery (vocals on A2), Tower of Power horn section (horns on A1) [Greg Adams (trumpet), Emilio Castillo (tenor sax), Mic Gillette (trumpet, trombone), Steve Kupka (baritone sax), Lenny Pickett (tenor sax, lyricon solo)], violas [Lamar Alsop, Al Brown], violins [Michael Comins, Harry Cykman, Barry Finclair, Paul Gershman, Harold Kohon, Guy Lumia, Marvin Morganstern, David Nadien, John Pintavalle, Max Pollikof], Miroslav Vitous (acoustic bass [pizzicato] on B2b), Verdine White (very funky bass on A4). Produced by Lenny White and Pat Gleeson; engineered by Don Cody, Jimmy Douglass, George Engfer, Bernie Kirsh, Neil Schwartz, Skip Shimmen; mixed by Dennis MacKay & Steve Brandon except A1 by Neil Schwartz.
Art direction by Abie Sussman and Bob Defries. Cover by David Wilcox. Photo by Hiro Ito.
Released on elpee in 1977 in the US (Nemperor, NE-441). Reached #17 on the US Jazz charts.