Yusef Lateef: true to himself and a people-pleaser too: Live at the Jazz Showcase

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An early adopter of Islam among black jazzmen was Yusef Lateef (1920-2013),  who went his own way musically as well, sounding slightly exotic even while offering ample evidence of rootedness in the mainstream: playing jazz oboe from time to time helped with suggestions of inspiration from afar.

 A 1975 date of his quartet at the time has been unearthed by jazz archaeologist Zev Feldman under the title "Alight Upon the Lake" (Resonance Records).  As an LP set it was a significant feature on Record Store Daty last month; I received the two-CD version for review.  The subtitle is "Live at the Jazz Showcase," making it a laudable project in making public tapes the proprietor,  Joe Segal, made over the years of the musicians he presented at his Chicago club.

Lateef was admired  as a musical and lifestyle mentor by younger musicians, such  as Bennie Maupin, who's quoted to that effect in the expansive booklet accompanying the release. As near as I can tell, however, he was rarely written about in his various streams of achievement: composer, saxophonist, flutist and (rarely) oboist. In the indexes of two capacious jazz review collections, one each by Whitney Balliett and Gary Giddins, his name does not appear.

As a double-reed player, he is only slightly in evidence here. I hear him in the background of "The Untitled," which opens Disc 1. In typical form, however, he is conspicuously strong as a tenor saxophonist, opening fast, then moving for a long time into a slow modal episode. The track is almost a duo performance for a while, involving pianist Kenny Barron and  bassist Bob Cunningham, who resorts to the bow to proclaim his freedom from jazz cliche. 

Swinging is an afterthought during such episodes, but that's not a significant mark against the music except when it goes on too long. It's a pleasant surprise to hear so much of Barron in this release. Lateef was apparently generous to his sidemen,  and the young pianist gives evidence of the prowess that, now late in life, has afforded him master status as both player and teacher. And there is much first-class work in supporting the group from drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath, brother of two other Heaths of distinction, Percy (bass) and Jimmy (saxophone).

tBesides his love of "stretching out" musically and conveying his love for the audience, Lateef could also connect by picking novelties from the world of popular song, in this case the jazz-inflected Nat King Cole hit "Straighten Up and Fly Right." Lateef states the melody directly, then improvises in its spirit of well-meant advice. His phrasing has  nice separation mirroring the original. The easy relationship of fresh lines of inquiry into the song is consistent, and you can feel the crowd stirring with enthusiasm and the band members getting into the celebration. 

Cunningham's walking bass is perfect behind Lateef's tenor shouting. When Barron takes over for a solo, there is a rousing succession of new ideas, especially during the song's bridge. 'The laid-back but somehow intense mood seems to draw on the spirit of Fats Waller, blending with that of Cole, the song's iconic performer. Cunningham continues walking, often into the upper register. Heath is steady and imaginative in accompaniment, which seems to get him ready for solo exchanges with the band, first eight-bar, then four-bar, always jumping, finally laying out for four bars so the crowd can clap the beats.

A rollicking blues titled "Yusef's Mood," hard-driving and drawing directly on boogie-woogie, brings the set to a close. Barron quotes "Chattanooga Choo-Choo " for a couple of phrases, then waxes florid in the authentic boogie groove. The pianist is tirelessly inventive and down-home in a comfortable manner. Laateef expounds at length.

All told, despite some stretches during the three discs where my attention wandered, this kind of playing under the congenial mood of the leader makes the release of this gig  worth getting to know. But considering  that he introduces "Yusef's Mood" as "goin-home music," well before 24 minutes are up you may start wishing the band had gone home sooner. Yet I cannot dismiss the effect of the balm Lateef offers  elsewhere in a tender memorial to Ben Webster, "I Remember Webster." It's an original, inspired throughout, and it's only eight minutes long.



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