Benito Gonzalez / Buster Williams / Lenny White
Benito Gonzalez, Buster Williams, and Lenny White come together for an elite jazz trio performance at Blues Alley. The program is expected to combine Gonzalez’s original compositions with McCoy Tyner classics and a favorite John Coltrane tune.
Gonzalez is a two-time Grammy-nominated pianist and composer whose work blends American jazz traditions with musical influences from around the world. His career includes performances with Pharoah Sanders, Kenny Garrett, Dave Liebman, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride, Lenny White, and many other major jazz artists. He has also led the albums *Starting Point* and *Passion Reverence Transcendence*, won the Great American Jazz Piano Competition, toured with Kenny Garrett for seven years, and served as Pharoah Sanders’s pianist and musical director beginning in 2019.
Bassist Buster Williams has collaborated with a vast range of jazz legends, including Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Chet Baker, Chick Corea, Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Sonny Rollins, Count Basie, Kenny Barron, Freddie Hubbard, and many others. Drummer Lenny White began recording with major artists as a teenager, including Miles Davis on *Bitches Brew* and Freddie Hubbard on *Red Clay*. A founding figure in jazz-rock, White is a four-time Grammy Award winner best known for his work with Return to Forever, as well as collaborations with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Jaco Pastorius, Carlos Santana, and Chaka Khan.
When: Thursday, October 1, 2026
Showtimes: 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM
Tickets: $35, plus a $7 fee
Lineup: Benito Gonzalez, piano; Buster Williams, bass; and Lenny White, drums
Venue: Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20007
Doors: 6:00 PM for the 7:00 PM show and 8:45 PM for the 9:30 PM show
Food and beverage minimum: $15 per person, not included in the ticket price
Seating: First come at the door
Policies: Tickets are final sale, nonrefundable, and nontransferable. Photography and recording are prohibited during the performance, and guests are asked to keep conversation to a minimum.