Prince of the sea (Lenny White) (LP 2267)

Lenny White  Venusian Summer (Vinyl, Nemperor Records, 1975) *****  

Genre: Jazz fusion 

Places I remember: Amoeba Records (LA)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Venusian Summer Suite

Gear costume: Prince Of The Sea 

Active compensatory factors: Lenny White is an outrageously gifted drummer who plays in the jazz fusion world, mainly with the fusion band Return To Forever. 

He has played with Jackie Mclean and Miles Davis as well, so he knows what he's doing!

He also has a solo career and Venusian Summer was his debut album in 1975. Some of the other musicians joining him on the album - David Sancious and guitarists Larry Coryell/ Al Di Meola on Prince Of The Sea.

I really like this funk fusion groove Lenny gets going on the album. Doug Rauch on bass is a big part of that as he and Lenny lay down the rhythms.

Where do they all belong? I don't have any other solo albums aside from a best of compilation on CD. Elsewhere though he pops up in various places - most notably in Return To Forever.

In the past, I have flirted with the idea of collecting the Nemperor jazz label (the 1974 to 1977 version before they were absorbed into CBS/Epic). Mainly because I like what they released and as with Grunt, Apple, Ring 'O' and Dark Horse records - I really like the label design (the stylised 'N' and the colour really appeals). Plus, there is a Brian Epstein connection.

One of the problems is that Nemperor was distributed by Atlantic Records from 1974 to 77, so some of the catalogue is listed on the cover as being Nemperor, but the actual label is Atlantic. Little Children by Hammer/Goodman is a case in point.

The other slight issue is the eclectic nature of the catalogue (jazz fusion, pop, rock) but that didn't stop me with Apple or Dark Horse.

So far I've resisted the temptation but I remain on the lookout.