Michael White, born November 29, 1954, in New Orleans, Louisiana, is an American jazz clarinetist, bandleader, composer, jazz historian, and musical educator. He began playing the clarinet at a young age and started his professional career as a teenager with Doc Paulin’s Brass Band. Michael White was discovered by Kid Sheik Colar while performing in Jackson Square in the French Quarter. White released his debut album, Shake It & Break It, in 1987. He collaborated with Wynton Marsalis on albums like The Majesty of the Blues (1989) and Crescent City Serenade (1990), the latter also featuring Wendell Brunious and Walter Payton. White founded The Original Liberty Jazz Band in 1981 to preserve New Orleans' musical heritage, performing annually at the Village Vanguard since the early 1990s. He is a college professor teaching African-American music at Xavier University of Louisiana, holding the Rosa and Charles Keller Endowed Chair in the Humanities of New Orleans Music and Culture. He has received notable awards including the Royal Norwegian Musical Medal (1994), Chevalier of Arts and Letters (1995), and the National Heritage Fellowship (2008).
