Chris White

In his early twenties White made occasional appearances alongside Cecil Taylor. Between 1960 and 1961 he provided accompaniment for vocalist Nina Simone before becoming a member of Dizzy Gillespie’s ensemble, remaining until 1966. During 1963 he participated in a recording session with saxophonist James Moody, another musician from Gillespie’s band, and in 1966 he collaborated with pianist Billy Taylor. Additional associations include performances with Eubie Blake, Earl Hines, Chick Corea, Teddy Wilson, Kenny Barron, and Mary Lou Williams. White established his own ensemble known as The Jazz Survivors and participated in the cooperative group Prism. He also issued the solo recording The Chris White Project. Throughout much of his professional life White has focused on jazz education, serving as the inaugural Executive Director for Jazzmobile in New York City as well as the first director of Rutgers University’s Institute of Jazz Studies. He created the MUSE jazz program at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. As of the time of this account, White held the position of Director of Music at Bloomfield College in New Jersey.