As a teenager, I was wildly infatuated with the music and talents of Yusef Lateef and my enthusiasm has never diminished. Sitting in the smoky “Minor Key”, (a Detroit, Michigan coffee house and Jazz joint), I was initiated into the music by the outrageous mastery of Miles, Alvin Jones, and Yusef Lateef, to list just a few. We were teenagers, wearing black Banlon shirts with an alligator running across the breast pocket; me in black tights and with too much white lipstick on pouted lips. We pictured ourselves as ultra cool listening to jazz and Beatnik poetry. I experienced the unlikely metamorphosis from Motown R&B to Jazz while listening to Lateef’s “Sister Sadie”. So, with great expectation I unwrapped a recent CD arrival by percussionist extraordinaire, Adam Rudolph, titled “Towards the Unknown” and distinctively labeled a “Concerto for Brother Yusef”. After listening, it was obvious this CD reflects a deep understanding between two old friends and two dedicated musicians. It showcases their amazing talents, using improvisational expression, space, poetry and unique creativity. What’s more, this recording took me back in time to the sixties and the Minor Key. This production does not sully the music, for Jazz has always epitomized freedom and in this project freedom reigns. At the same time, it becomes an apropos testimonial and tribute to celebrate NEA Jazz Master Lateef’s 90th year on the planet. What a birthday present; one we can all enjoy! Herein is a cornucopia of mood changes, pasted together by recording studio magic like a collage of sound. These arrangements paint pictures in space with musical brushes, bells, the Sinter, Frame drum, Udu drum, Cup gongs, Bass drum, Overtone pipe, and Rudolph also plays electronic keyboards. Lateef is fluid and uninhibited on tenor saxophone, flute and Umtshingo flute, Handiphone, Pneumatic bamboo flute, vocals and original spoken word. The first part of the CD features six suites that make up this concerto. On the opening number Lateef’s gritty, sexy blues vocal is punctuated by horns and percussion that could be five-o-clock traffic or sounds heard sitting by the tracks awaiting that “First Train”. “Southside” is beautifully free, like a conversation the sun is having with a passing cloud. This music is poetry. The second part of the CD was composed entirely by Lateef for Adam Rudolph and is labeled “Percussion Concerto”. It gives space along with orchestral accompaniment so that Rudolph can cut loose and engage a host of percussive instruments to express himself. The Orchestra uses thirteen members of the S.E.M. Ensemble, conducted by Czech composer Petr Kotik The ”First Movement” is nearly twenty minutes long but passes like the blink of an eye. Rudolph has often been labeled a “Pioneer of World Music” and during the “Percussion Concerto” he shows another example of how he incorporates cultures and improvises his way through Lateef’s spirited compositions. Although lush and beautifully arranged, the orchestra is understated and leaves plenty of room for the percussion to preen and parade. This music creates a satori. Lateef explained that he was striving to compose something that exhibited several different realities happening at once. Rudolph felt it was an invitation to delve into something deeper and to respond to what he heard. The combined results are mystical and a manifestation of the creative understanding these two men have had for the past twenty-one years. You are never bored by innovative music, each song like a satsang. If anything, when the CD is complete and the room turns eerily quiet, you may find yourself starting the experience all over again, the way I did.

A CD Review by Dee Dee McNeil – March 2010
Submitted to www.lajazz.com for her Jazz Diary Blog

Dee Dee McNeil
March 2010

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