In conversation with drummer Lenny White and pianist Cyrus Chestnut who, along with bassist Buster Williams, will make their India debut at the NCPA Legends concert this month.

By Narendra Kusnur

In 2016, jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut released the album Natural Essence, featuring bassist Buster Williams and drummer Lenny White. The nine tracks contained a mix of originals and popular standards including ‘It Could Happen to You’, ‘My Romance’ and saxophonist Joe Henderson’s ‘Mamacita’. Under Chestnut’s leadership, the trio released another album There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit the following year, with vibraphonist Steve Nelson on some tracks. Besides two originals, they played compositions by Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, and a prelude by classical composer Frederic Chopin.

Despite the difference in age and diversity of styles, Chestnut, Williams and White have shown a great mutual understanding, as evident in these two albums. The records prompted them to bill themselves the Legendary Trio. The three musicians, in several decades of music-making, have a total of five Grammy wins and will be making their India debut in the city this month. This continues the streak of India debuts of celebrated jazz and blues musicians at the NCPA in the past one year, including the likes of Jesús Molina, Emmet Cohen, Alfredo Rodriguez, Jane Monheit, Demetria Taylor, Terrie Odabi, Dianne Reeves, Ilya Serov and most recently, Eliane Elias. Mumbai will have a taste of the trio’s magic when they perform at the Tata Theatre as part of the NCPA Legends series on 20th July.

According to Chestnut, the tour came about in a conversation between producer and jazz promoter Michael Brovkine and the musicians about whether they were keen to perform in India. “The trio has performed all over Europe and the US and will follow a similar programme in India. We will play our own arrangements of standards as well as original compositions,” he says.

Drummer White, best known for being part of Miles Davis’s 1969 album Bitches Brew and for playing in Chick Corea’s 1970s jazz fusion band Return to Forever, is excited about his first visit to India. He says, “When we have three great musicians who understand the language of music and the translation needed in jazz, things are bound to click. We trust each other…”

Musically, the artistes belong to different generations. The 1942-born Williams started playing in the early 1960s, often accompanying vocalists Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson, before joining pianist Herbie Hancock. White was born in 1949 and started his career when the jazz-rock fusion movement was taking off in the late 1960s. Chestnut, the youngest, was born in 1963. He started his career in the late 1980s, accompanying trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and vocalist Betty Carter, among others.

Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, Chestnut began playing the piano very early, and was first trained in classical music, besides being exposed to gospel music through the church. He says, “My father introduced me to the piano, and I started my journey when I was two or three. Before he passed away, he told me, ‘Son, I could leave you an inheritance, but I believe if I got you to the piano, you would be okay’. I am forever grateful to him for that wisdom.”

Chestnut slowly moved towards jazz, and in 1985, earned a degree in jazz composition and arranging from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Soon he began working with Marsalis, trumpeter-pianist Terence Blanchard, saxophonist Donald Harrison and vocalist Jon Hendricks. In the early 1990s, he joined vocalist Carter’s band and appeared on her album It’s Not About the Melody. He recalls, “Working with Betty was like jazz graduate school and boot camp rolled into one. It was not easy, but I learnt many things that I use today. She encouraged me to always think and be in a creative mode. Re-creation was not acceptable.”

Chestnut was not part of Carter’s band when she visited Mumbai in 1997. By that time, he was pursuing his solo career. He also worked as sideman with various artistes, including saxophonists Sadao Watanabe, Gerald Albright and James Carter, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, bassist Christian McBride and vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater. On his latest album Charmed, he has teamed up with vibraphonist Warren Wolf, also originally from Baltimore. He says, “The combination of piano and vibraphone always sounded interesting to me. I like the sound texture the vibraphone offers, and also believe a duo offers a different chemistry than a trio or quartet.”

According to Chestnut, jazz piano has evolved over the years, with the younger lot getting more technically proficient. “The challenge, I would say to the younger pianist, is to gather all the techniques you have gathered to simply make music,” he says.

White also talks of a major advancement in drumming styles, not only in jazz, but across various musical genres. He says, “Today’s drumming is inclusive of different styles and cultures. I myself have tried to adapt to various styles. Though the early part of my career focused on jazz and fusion, I later formed the group Twennynine to explore rhythm and blues, and funk, which more people were listening to. When I heard the group Steely Dan, I figured jazz music, including drums, could be put together into pop music too.”

As a child, White wanted to play the trumpet, but soon found himself getting more interested in drums. A self-taught musician, he hung around clubs in New York, discovering new sounds. He recalls, “Whether it was jazz, classical, rhythm and blues or hip-hop, New York was the place to be. My calling was jazz. Count Basie, Lester Young, Ella Fitzgerald were all in the neighbourhood. So there was some great exposure there.”

Though he began playing with saxophonist Jackie McLean, his big break came when he was invited to play on Davis’s album Bitches Brew. “There were two things there,” he says. “One, I began to play with Chick Corea on that album. Two, I divide all jazz music into two categories—BBB and ABB. That’s Before Bitches Brew and After Bitches Brew. That was the kind of impact the album had in changing the sound of jazz. It also taught me the importance of creating music, rather than just playing it.”

White joined Corea again on the third Return to Forever album, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy. The band’s classic line-up, featuring Corea, White, bassist Stanley Clarke and guitarist Al Di Meola, released some much-appreciated albums including Romantic Warrior in 1976. White describes it as the first concept album in jazz fusion, because the pieces were linked by a story. “I had been listening to progressive rock bands Yes and King Crimson those days, and I brought in those sensibilities.”

White says he has followed Indian music for many years, especially the work of Zakir Hussain and Trilok Gurtu. “I have seen them in different configurations, including Zakir recently in Shakti. I respect anyone I can learn something from. I’ve done some stuff [the song ‘Waqt’] with singer Suneeta Rao, and she told me about different vocal and rhythmic styles from India,” he says.

For his part, bassist Williams has collaborated with many musicians throughout his career. He has recorded albums with guitarist Larry Coryell, the group Jazz Crusaders, and saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Benny Golson, among others, and been part of Hancock’s Mwandishi sextet, which explored new electronic sounds in jazz.

With such a vast and diverse experience, the Legendary Trio is sure to create waves at the Tata Theatre. As White sums it up, “We just get together and say, let’s play these tunes. What happens later is always a surprise.”

This article was originally published in the July 2024 issue of ON Stage.