Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie, Alice Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock and John Scofield, DeJohnette was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2007.

He led his own groups in addition to playing with Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell and other eventual core members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (founded in 1965).

[4] A band that recognized the potential influence of rock and roll on jazz, Lloyd's group was where DeJohnette first encountered pianist Keith Jarrett, who would work extensively with him throughout his career.

[11] However, DeJohnette left the group in early 1968, citing Lloyd's deteriorating, "flat" playing as his main reason for leaving.

[10] In 1969, DeJohnette left the Evans trio and replaced Tony Williams in Miles Davis's live band.

Davis had seen DeJohnette play many times, one of which was during a stint with Evans at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London in 1968, where he also first heard bassist Dave Holland.

DeJohnette and the other musicians saw the Bitches Brew sessions as unstructured and fragmentary, but also innovative: "As the music was being played, as it was developing, Miles would get new ideas ...

"[15] While he was not the only drummer involved in the project, as Davis had also enlisted Billy Cobham, Don Alias, and Lenny White, DeJohnette was considered the leader of the rhythm section within the group.

[19] He first formed the group Compost in 1972, but this was a short-lived endeavor, and DeJohnette cited the music as far too experimental to achieve commercial success.

[10] This group also helped the careers of many lesser-known young horn players, as it had a rotating front line that included David Murray, Arthur Blythe, Chico Freeman, and John Purcell, among others.

"[20] DeJohnette's work with Special Edition has been interrupted regularly by other projects, the most significant of which are his recordings in 1983 and tours from 1985 as a member of Keith Jarrett's trio, which was totally devoted to playing jazz standards.

[8] At the start of the 1980s, DeJohnette played on the album 80/81 with Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Dewey Redman and Michael Brecker.

In 1981, DeJohnette performed at the Woodstock Jazz Festival, held in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Creative Music Studio.

In 1990 he toured in a quartet consisting of himself, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, and his long-time collaborator Holland,[10] and released Parallel Realities with this group the same year.

In 2008, DeJohnette toured with Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea, and the Jarrett trio, and the next year won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album with Peace Time.

[23] In 2012, DeJohnette released Sound Travels, which included appearances by McFerrin, Quintero, Bruce Hornsby, Esperanza Spalding, Lionel Loueke, and Jason Moran.