Her stepfather was George E. Lescher, a pianist who played with the Spike Jones Band during World War II and was a longtime Chicago resident.

[2] Whitney began her professional jazz singing career in the early 1990s under the mentoring of Von Freeman, a tenor saxophonist in Chicago.

[3] Jerry Brown and Gloria Cooper have recorded her work and three songs (in collaboration with Curtis Fuller, Rodgers Grant, and Milton Sealey).

[4] In October 2010, New York jazz vocalist Suzanne Pittson recorded a rendition of Freddie Hubbard's song "Our Own" (based on "Gibraltar"), which contained lyrics by Whitney.

[5] She has collaborated with Johnny Griffin, Houston Person, Clifford Jordan, Stanley Turrentine, Ray Brown, and Pete Cosey.