Yusef Lateef
FameRank: 5

"Yusef Abdul Lateef" was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer and Music education/educator for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community after his conversion to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam in 1950.

Although Lateef's main instruments were the tenor saxophone and flute, he also played oboe and bassoon, both rare in jazz, and also used a number of non-western instruments such as the bamboo flute, shanai, shofar, Xun (instrument)/xun, arghul and koto (musical instrument)/koto. He is known for having been an innovator in the blending of jazz with "Eastern world/Eastern" music. Peter Keepnews, in his The New York Times/New York Times obituary of Lateef, wrote that the musician "played world music before world music had a name."

Lateef wrote and published a number of books including two novellas entitled A Night in the Garden of Love and Another Avenue, the short story collections Spheres and Rain Shapes, also his autobiography, The Gentle Giant, written in collaboration with Herb Boyd. Along with his record label YAL Records, Lateef owned Fana Music, a music publishing company. Lateef published his own work through Fana, which includes Yusef Lateef's Flute Book of the Blues and many of his own orchestral compositions.

If you enjoy these quotes, be sure to check out other famous musicians! More Yusef Lateef on Wikipedia.

My music is jazz.

Flowers, beautiful flowers, children, humanity, lovely, love, life, embrace all - please!