There are a handful of jazz albums that are out there that you have to admit you love, even if you hate jazz with a holy hatred. Yusef Lateef’s 1961 release in which he plays flute, oboe and tenor sax with Lex Humphries/dr, Barry Harris/p and Ernie Farrow/b is one of those albums that is both universal in its appeal and timeless in its allure.
Lateef had been mixing traditional hard bop with what eventually became known to be “world music” years before anyone, even John Coltrane began tinkering with it. This subdued and kind of blue album perfectly balances various worlds and styles of music, starting with the simple pulse laid down by Farrow on the rabat with the leader mystically hovering over on flute, and Harris sublimely swinging through the breeze. The band simmers with Lateef grooving on oboe for “Blues For The Orient”. On the breathy and husky tenor, Lateef oozes out smoke rings on a dreamy “Don’t Blame Me” and sears through an assertive “Snafu”. But most endearing of all are his treatments of the two movie soundtracks. The tenderness of his flute on “Love Theme From The Robe” is like a meditative walk in a garden, while “Love Theme From Spartacus” has Lateef’s oboe in understated passion over Harris’ caressed ivories. If all music were like this, the world would be a better place.