 He achieved recognition performing with Terence Blanchard's Quintet and then with Roy Hargrove.His own first album "Children of the Light" was released in 1996

His score for the film "China", directed by Jeff Wray, was released on PBS in 2002.In 2006, Whitaker was nominated for the Juno Award Traditional Jazz Album of the Year for "Let Me Tell You About My Day", his album in collaboration with Phil Dwyer and Alan Jones.