News & Updates — Yusef Lateef

One of the (gentle) giants of American music, the career Brother Yusef Lateef stretches way back to the '40s and he has played with many greats and inspired many others. The man played tenor sax, flute, oboe, basson, shenai, koto and many other obscure or Eastern instruments, as well as electronics. He was an early fusionist of "world music" and jazz. His base was very bluesy, and his music also touched on funk, new age, film music, gospel, avant-garde, bop, electro-acoustic, European classical and various Eastern and African forms. He was born in Chattanooga but grew up as William Evans in...