Michael White (violinist)

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Michael Walter White (May 24, 1930 – December 6, 2016) was an American jazz violinist. He was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in Oakland, California, starting the violin at age six. His big break came in 1965 when he played with the John Handy Quintet at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and he later recorded three albums with Handy.

White was one of the first violinists in avant-garde jazz and helped pioneer jazz-rock fusion in the late 1960s with his band The Fourth Way. He played with many famous musicians, including Sun Ra, McCoy Tyner, Eric Dolphy, Wes Montgomery, Pharoah Sanders, Kenny Dorham, Joe Henderson, and John Lee Hooker.

In 2007, the Michael White Quintet’s song Mechanical Man won Best Jazz Song at the Independent Music Awards. He lived for many years in Los Angeles. In the mid-1990s he helped reunite the Handy Quintet and, with Bill Frisell, released the album Motion Pictures in 1997. He also released Voices in 2006.

Michael White passed away on December 6, 2016.