Search - Yusef Lateef :: Detroit

Funky African beat jazz ahead of its time in 1969

robert foster | Honolulu, Hawaii | 03/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This tribute to the city of Detroit finds Yusef playing strong horn lines with a funky African beat. He even sings although some is unintellegible or repititious song name utterings.
My favorite song "Eastern Market" tells a musical story of the open market with a string quartet led by William Fischer and a horn section of the greats; Snookie Young,Jimmy Owens, and Danny Moore. Eric Gale funk picks that 60's guitar sound so recognizable.
On a short tune "Raymond Winchester" Lateef plays the entire song "talking" into his reed on the tenor sax. That African beat is so well produced it could be 1995 but it isn't and legends like Chuck Rainey on electric bass, Cecil McBee on stand up with Ray Baretto conga's, Albert "Tootie" Heath percussion and fabulous Bernard Purdie on drums make it all come together.
This album changed my musical interests in 1969 when I bought it at Canterburry Music Store on Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, SoCal. The same place I took drum lessons from Jim Keltner and bought my first set of white pearl Ludwigs with Zildjan cymbals so true that I would kill to get them back.
Highlights and songs more fitted into the contemporary jazz scene of the day are "Belle Isle" where you really hear Yusef Lateef's creative abilities and "Russell and Eliot" a beautiful song with strong electric bass and some good soloing by Eric Gale with drummer Bernard Purdie echoing a bit. This album has been a fav of mine for 32 years and I have heard and played some fine music, in that time, so a 5 is a real honor and so deserved.
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