Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Michael White was born On May 24, 1933 in Houston, Texas and grew up in Oakland, California. He took up the violin when he was nine years old and not becoming known until 1965 when he played with the John Handy Quintet at the Monterey Jazz Festival. He would go on to record three albums with Handy.

White was among the first to play the violin in avant-garde jazz and by the late 1960s became one of the first jazz violinists to play jazz-rock fusion with his band Fourth Way. He has played with musicians such as Sun Ra, Prince Lasha, McCoy Tyner, Eric Dolphy, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Dorham, Joe Henderson, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and Richard Davis. In early 2007, The Michael White Quintet’s “Mechanical Man” won in The 6th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Jazz Song.

Now living in Kobe, Japan, Michael has experienced a long period of obscurity.  However, in the mid 1990s he was involved in a reunion of the Handy Quintet, and recorded an album as co-leader with Bill Frisell titled “Motion Picture” and in 2006 White released his ninth album “Voices”.

Violinist Michael White has recorded nine albums as a leader and nine as a sideman with John Coltrane, The Dead Science, Sonny Simmons, The Fourth Way and John Handy. He still records and performs.

Put A Dose In Your Pocket

More Posts: violin