During the last half century, Yusef Lateef has successively reinvented himself as a swing-era tenor, world-music pioneer, and orchestral composer. Now 32 Jazz has reissued the cream of his Atlantic recordings on The Man with the Big Front Yard. This three-disc set offers a superb look at Lateef's quick-change artistry. A cut like "Kongsberg" finds the saxophonist in a hard-bop mood, leading an able quartet through his own gospel-flavored composition. Elsewhere Lateef deploys a bigger, funkier ensemble--indeed, the 1969 sessions originally issued as Yusef Lateef's Detroit feature percolating performances by the likes of pianist Eric Gale and Bernard Purdie. And a delicate arrangement of "Come Sunday," which spotlights the leader's flute alongside Kermit Moore's cello, anticipates the chamber music that this protean artist would produce throughout the 1970s. --James Marcus
Jazz Times
The music [on this 3-CD set] is commercial, aimed at R&B as well as jazz audiences. On The Complete a few tracks have something in common with the work of Ray Charles's band. Detroit has a very obvious R&B component and Hush has a gospel influence. Unfortunately, there are just too many undistinguished funk tracks here which don't give Lateef a chance to play creatively.
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Jazz Music:
- The New Chapter: The 25th Anniversary
- The Return of Tal Farlow: 1969
- The Tokyo Express
- Then Again
- Thoughts of You
- Under the Sun/Snake Hips Etcetera [Original recording remastered]
- Viva Velarde
- Vivid
- Vol. 3: 1936-1937
- Walk In The Park
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Under the Covers - 20 NRG Encounters [Import]
The Good News Is The Bad News Was Wrong
Mexican-American Border Music, Vol. 1: Pioneer Recording Artists (1928-1958)