Few artists have stayed true to their own unique calling as had Yusef Lateef. He was one of the first musicians to create what is now termed “world music”, simply bringing in rhythms, harmonies and instruments from disparate part of the world. Playing tenor sax, flute and soprano sax among other exotic instruments throughout his career, Lateef bridged geographic musical gaps like no other.
At the time of this 1972 concert in Avignon France, he had just completed his Gentle Giant album with the members of the band on stage, namely Kenny Barron/p, Bob Cunningham/b and Albert “Tootie” Heath/dr-fl. One tune from that release is performed here, a bass/flute duet between Cunningham and Heath on the Monument Valley-mooded “Lowland Lullaby”, with another duet being Lateef on flute floating around Barron on “A Flower”.
Besides that, Lateef’s T Bone steak of a beefy tenor bops on “Inside Atlantis” and shuffles on the bluesy “Yusef’s Mood”, glistening on his aria “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You”. A twenty five minute jam that concludes the evening has Cunningham bowing like a madman and the foursome going into a wild climactic avalanche of energy an sound. No two songs are remotely alike, as Lateef makes each song a single framed work of art, as his instrument is a brush looking for a canvas. Music in search of a world.