Biography of Yusef Lateef

Reeds, composer. Before there was something called "worldbeat," Yusef Lateef was experimenting with instruments from China and Africa, playing Indian scales, and integrating jazz with the music of other cultures. Lateef began on alto in high school, then moved to tenor, oboe, and other flutes and began making his own instruments. He played with Lucky Millinder and Dizzy Gillespie in the 40s and began his own group in the mid 50s. He left Detroit for New York in the 60s and worked there with Charles Mingus, Olatunji, and Cannonball Adderley for two years. Lateef was never comfortable with the tag "jazz musician" and was seeking a fuller concept in the early 60s. As a saxophonist, he's basically a prototype hard-blowing, bop-centered soloist; his flute work and his use of oboe, argol, and other more non-Western instruments have been more exciting, with long lines and enticing melodies and vocal effects. ~ Ron Wynn