Yusef Lateef - soprano sax, tenor sax, flute,
shahnai, vocal
Art Farmer - flugelhorn
Cliff Carter - keyboards
Eric Gale - guitar
Gary King - electric bass
Jim Madison - drums
Sue Evans - percussion
Frank Floyd, Babi Floyd, Milt Grayson, Norberto
Jones - background vocals.
Produced by Creed Taylor
Recorded Electric Lady Studios, New York 1977.
1. Robot Man
2. Look On Your Right Side
3. YL
4. Communication
5. Sister Mamie
This disc is one of a series
of recent reissues on the CTI label. Over
the last few years there has been a steady
stream of material from the likes of Stanley
Turrentine, Hank Crawford, Freddie Hubbard
and Astrid Gilberto. The majority of these
sess\ions date from the late 1960s to the
1970s.and much of the output reflects on an
era when Jazz was coming under the influence
of more diverse and popular forms such as
Soul,Rock and the music of Latin America.
The two main protagonists
on this particular session were, by this time,
more or less establishment figures, if somewhat
underrated. It is fascinating to here these
strong musical personas crossing over into
new territory, for whatever reasons. Yusef
Lateef is a highly original player who not
onlyis known for his work on the tenor saxophone
and flute but also as a convincing performer
on many rare wind instruments from around
the world and as the first and, to my ears,
only jazz musician to be truly convincing
on the notoriously temperamental oboe.
By the time of these recordings
Lateef had worked with many of the music's
premier artists including a sojourn with The
Cannonball Adderley Sextet and had some success
both live and on disc with his own groups.
Art Farmer had followed a similar path and
had performed with musician's as diverse as
Horace Silver,Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey and
was a regular on sessions on the Blue Note
label. He was one of the first and most significant
players to adopt the Flugelhorn as a substitute
for the brighter, thinner sounding trumpet.
The music here is not at
all what the listener of the time would have
expected from these players redolent as it
is with funky rhythms and soulful vocals but
it is most enjoyable and rewarding in its
content and for the freshness which is still
apparent years later. Lateef and Farmer adapt
with ease and confidence to the new style
and this is a rare occasion in that Lateef
actually plays the soprano saxophone instead
of the oboe. I just wish he had chosen to
work on this instrument more often. The backing
band is superb and the whole project is most
worthwhile and great fun simultaneously.
Dick Stafford
CD Reviews
CTI 5127952 
