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***** Yusef Lateef Corner *****


king ubu

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  • 1 year later...

For me the highlight of the NEA Jazz Masters awards ceremony was Yusef's piece performed with a percussionist. In addition to a host of wooden flutes and regular flute Yusef played tenor and sang. His sound on tenor is still incredible.

Other highlights included Moody's introduction of Kenny Barron, Jimmy Heath's brief introduction of Cedar and Gerald Wilson's introduction of Bobby Hutcherson, who unfortunately didn't play.

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Thanks for reporting, Michael! Good to know Lateef still has it down!

He appeared in Paris with Archie Shepp (and Shepp's band: Tom McClung, Wayne Dockery, Steve McCraven, with Leon Parker added on percussion) in September. A recording is in circulation but I haven't come around to it yet. His album with the Belmondo brothers also yielded a few fantastic live concerts, though again I only heard some of it on the radio, alas. That was in 2006.

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His album with the Belmondo brothers also yielded a few fantastic live concerts, though again I only heard some of it on the radio, alas. That was in 2006.

I saw the performance with the Belmondos at NorthSea some years ago (2005?) - it was a highlight of the festival. Heck, even watching him dismantling his horns and packing them away was great.

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For me the highlight of the NEA Jazz Masters awards ceremony was Yusef's piece performed with a percussionist. In addition to a host of wooden flutes and regular flute Yusef played tenor and sang. His sound on tenor is still incredible.

Other highlights included Moody's introduction of Kenny Barron, Jimmy Heath's brief introduction of Cedar and Gerald Wilson's introduction of Bobby Hutcherson, who unfortunately didn't play.

You are truly lucky!!!

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  • 1 year later...

603497103263_xl.jpg

Wow! Just about to finish my first spin of "The Complete Yusef Lateef", a 1968 Atlantic album (reissued on CD by Collectables). Recorded in 1967 with Hugh Lawson, Cecil McBee and Roy Brooks and 'teef doing some overdubbing on a few tracks, this one's a really smoking disc!

I still have some reservations about the piecemeal albums (Blue, Detroit, Diverse, even more so Part of the Search), but I'm very happy about having "The Complete" now! The Atlantic period may be a sketchy one, but this one's definitely worth hearing!

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Was the yusef piece reminiscent of his early Prestge work?

That's very funny!

Why is that funny? Several of those albums are along the lines of what you described.

There are probably fewer than twenty artists whose albums I will buy without doing needledrops. Yusef is one of them.

Edited by Teasing the Korean
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What do you guys think of this?

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'Moon Cups' amazes me. I went from laughing to listening to liking, back to laughing, then listening again, not liking, laughing again and now I'm currently at 'liking'. For me the Atlantic stuff is weaker than either his Prestige or Impulse! recordings. I picked up '1984' a few days ago but have just given it a cursory listen so far. The only real dud I have by him is 'Nocturnes' from 1989. Dull and one-paced.

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  • 1 year later...

603497103263_xl.jpg

Wow! Just about to finish my first spin of "The Complete Yusef Lateef", a 1968 Atlantic album (reissued on CD by Collectables). Recorded in 1967 with Hugh Lawson, Cecil McBee and Roy Brooks and 'teef doing some overdubbing on a few tracks, this one's a really smoking disc!

I still have some reservations about the piecemeal albums (Blue, Detroit, Diverse, even more so Part of the Search), but I'm very happy about having "The Complete" now! The Atlantic period may be a sketchy one, but this one's definitely worth hearing!

I agree! This is a first rate piece of work.

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  • 3 weeks later...

The "Live at Pep's" are terrific! Great band, featuring unsung Richard Williams on trumpet. I don't think these live albums are comparable to the other Impulse albums - I only have "Golden Flute" and "Psychicemotus" - both are very good, but rather different from the live session, which is rawer, more intense, sometimes maybe ragged...

As for the Savoys: the early ones I think are even better than the sessions on the "Last Savoy" package. I know the Mood one and "Jazz for Thinkers", both are terrific!

I've been slowly making my way through the 4-cd 1957 sessions box, in particular I've listened to the two sessions which generated Jazz Mood and Jazz for Thinkers, and Ubu is right, they are brilliant. Some of the very best Lateef I've heard.

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Maybe I need to try again, because clearly he's an incredibly respected musician and composer.

Just listen to the sound he gets out of the tenor, how it's big, fat, and full in all registers, how he understands the possible sounds the horn presents, and how he always has total control over them.

Anything beyond that is just icing on the cake.

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Yes Jim, that sound from the tenor! I just love it!

I think my first exposure to Teefski was on a Charlie Parker lp on Charlie Parker Records. I mean literally. . . I bought a Charlie Parker lp on Charlie Parker Records, and though it was labeled Bird it was in fact Lateef. Which I did not know for a while, I just knew that it wasn't Charlie Parker!

I discovered this when sampling the ABC Impulse Years two lp set in a store and buying that. I can still remember sitting in my then basement listening space hearing those tracks for the first time. Lateef opened up some misical windows for me.

Edited by jazzbo
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I recommend the Live At Pep's volumes 1&2 on Impulse. I also like The Centaur & The Phoenix, and The Three Faces Of Yusef Lateef.

The 2-CD Savoy Sessions is another good set, but it might be deleted.

Just get the Fresh Sound "Yusef's Mood" 4 CD box - it's in print and includes all the material in the Savoy sessions box, and a lot more.

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