1 	Beyond The Sky 	3:08
2 	Origin Of A Mother Tongue 	4:31
3 	Evanescent Symmetries 	8:43
4 	Handful Of Gifts 	6:58
5 	Within Yourself 	9:03
6 	Three Dreams 	8:21
7 	Iqbal Remembered 	9:14
8 	Sun Cup 	5:17
9 	Hunger And Tears 	11:49
10 	Beyond The Sky, Part 2 	4:27

Joseph Bowie - Conch Shell, Congas, Percussion, Sabar, Trombone
Ralph Jones - Bassoon, Clarinet (Bass), Flutes, Hichiriki, Nepalese Flute, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
Yusef Lateef - Flute, Nepalese Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor), Shenai
Charles Moore - Batanon, Conch Shell, Flugelhorn, Karinyan, Trumpet
Adam Rudolph - African Harp, Congas, Djembe, Kalangu, MIDI, Percussion, Udu

Yusef Lateef is usually seen as a jazz player who has integrated African and Asian music into his work instead of a world-music pioneer. Perhaps this is a matter of timing: When Don Cherry and others made their pivotal recordings in the early and mid-'70s, the multi-instrumentalist was making a string of eclectic Atlantic recordings that obscured his accomplishments in this area. Still, in recent years, Lateef's collaboration with percussionist Adam Rudolph provides a bright backlight on his previous work, as well as confirming his ongoing artistic vitality.

Beyond the Sky is a thoroughly collaborative effort. Rudolph penned three of the program's 10 compositions and cowrote an additional three with Lateef. Even though the instrumentation ranges from indigenous flutes and drums to electro-acoustic computer rigs, and musicians are platooned at an almost track-by-track pace, the program has a cohesive, unforced, contemplative carriage. Arguably, the program has a somewhat limited spectrum of expression, as it hovers above the somnambular and sufficiently below the simmering. Still, an impressive array of musicians-trombonist Joseph Bowie and bass player Mark Helias being the best known-contribute engaging performances.

For every track that basks in the glow of Lateef's unadorned yet luminous flute melodies, highlighted by Rudolph's well-placed percussion colors or buoyed by his percolating polyrhythms, there are probing pieces, like "Evanescent Symmetries" and "Handful of Gifts," that juxtapose condensed, often angular ensemble passages with open improvisational space that allows the traditional and the postmodern to commingle. On such compositions, wind player Ralph, pianist Alex Marcelo, trumpeter Charles Moore and guitarist/signal processor M. Abidh Waugh make substantive contributions.

Some albums are a success by leaving its audience wanting more, while others are deemed deficient for the same reason. It is a mixed blessing in the case of Beyond the Sky, as Lateef's distinctive tenor saxophone solos are few and far between. ---Bill Shoemaker, jazztimes.com

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1 	You Know What I Mean 	6:29
2 	Monk Remembered 	5:13
3 	Thong 	13:36
4 	Selim 	7:06
5 	Dr. Emilio 	8:33
6 	In The Valley 	4:44
7 	Odd A Little 	10:21
8 	Ammons Remembered 	2:50

Bass – Avery Sharpe
Congas – Mulazimuddin S. Rasool (tracks: 8)
Drum – Stephen McCraven
Percussion – Adam Rudolph (tracks: 1)
Piano – Tom McClung
Producer – Yusef Lateef
Tambourine – Tony Vacca (tracks: 8)
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp, Yusef Lateef

Dr. Yusef Lateef may not play the music called jazz (if you look up the word in the dictionary it means vulgar music, and Dr. Lateef doesn't play or write anything "vulgar") but the music he does play with his quartet -- Avery Sharpe, bass; Andrew Hollander, piano; Kamal Sabir, drums -- is full of spirit, sophistication, soul, and movement. The quartet is augmented on this date to include tenor saxophonist Rene McLean. The pairing of these two giant tenor players -- in stature as well as musicality -- is a force of nature to be reckoned with. The set begins with the angular "Because They Love Me," which features the pair engaging in harmonic dialogue across middle and upper registers, entwining and trading solos before Sharpe turns the entire piece into a modal number in his solo kicking out open tone drones that leave Mr. Hollander to reconstruct the harmonic inside his own break. The mid-tempo numbers echo the blues in feeling and intensity, such as "Signs," but their lines are structured in such a way they extend through the end of an interval and force the player to return, but not until after he's turned it all around. With a call and response soloing cadence, the blues and gospel feelings at the heart of the music are never completely buried under the fiery pyrotechnics of the musicianship. Finally, the set closes with the popping, smoking "Altruism"; here is deep swinging soul undercut tonally by the intricate, staccato melody that Lateef has constructed from a series of eights and restrained pitches. The solos circle around the theme, and eventually extend into an all out exuberance of tenor cacophony. Though they are all interesting, Tenors is one of the finer records on Lateef's label. ---Thom Jurek, allmusic.com

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1 	Warm Intensity 	4:45
2 	Estuary 	2:34
3 	Indefinite Expansion 	2:34
4 	Closed Space 	5:12
5 	Compassion Duration 	4:56
6 	Visible Particles 	2:33
7 	While On Earth 	4:50
8 	Elementary Substance 	4:30
9 	Soft Light 	1:49
10 	Life Property 	2:39
11 	Luminous Energy 	2:37
12 	Essential Element 	5:27

Yusef Lateef - Casio, Ensoniq, Flutes, Keyboards, Oboe, Piano, Sax (Tenor)
Christopher Salvo - Clarinet, Guest Artist
Hugh Schick - Flugelhorn, Horn
Patrick Tucker - French Horn 

Yusef Lateef has always sought to extend the boundaries of musical expression. Continuing his quest for new vistas in jazz, Yusef Lateef's 1989 release NOCTURNES is a subtle, even brooding, musical project that uses sound colors and stark musical landscapes to create, above all else, a sense of darkness and nighttime. This music is largely programmatic. In fact, NOCTURNES is probably best summed up as a modern tone poem. The writing is gloomy and ominous, dissonant and angular. Yet, each track retains a distinctly gentle and placid disposition. Trumpeter Hugh Schick plays with a rich, full bodied and legato approach throughout and Lateef's own flute playing is often quite heartrending as he soliloquizes over his own piano and keyboard playing.

NOCTURNES is a perfect CD for late nights or dreary afternoons, Lateef and crew challenge our ears to enter into a world that is at once desolate and austere, yet pretty and serene. In short, this is mood music at its best. Highlights include "Compassion Duration" and "Warm Intensity." ---AllMusic Review

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A1 	Goin' Home	4:59
A2 	I'm Just a Lucky So and So	4:33
A3 	Quarantine	6:56
A4 	From Within		4:07
B1 	Salt Water Blues	6:44
B2 	Lateef Minor 7th	4:56
B3 	Adoration	4:28
B4 	Ma - He's Makin' Eyes at Me	5:50

Bass – Herman Wright
Celesta – Hugh Lawson (tracks: A4)
Cello – Ron Carter (tracks: A1, A2, A4, B1 to B3)
Drums – Lex Humphries
Flute – Yusef Lateef (tracks: A4, B2, B3)
Oboe – Yusef Lateef (tracks: A2, B1)
Piano – Hugh Lawson
Tenor Saxophone – Yusef Lateef (tracks: A1, A3, B4)
Timpani – Lex Humphries (tracks: A4)

On The Three Faces of Yusef Lateef, Riverside seems eager to present Yusef Lateef, technical virtuoso, on a series of songs that step closer to jazz tradition than any of his work in the recent past. Largely absent are Lateef's experiments with Eastern modes, rhythms, and instrumentation, and in their place is a collection of largely upbeat, accessible songs, with a balanced mix of standards and originals. Much of the introspective, personal quality of his previous albums seems lost in the effort, but Lateef's playing still remains stellar, especially on oboe. That instrument, which is by nature soft and muted, is given enough power by Lateef to lead on several songs, most beautifully on "Salt Water Blues," where its naturally melancholy sound seems perfectly matched with the low, rounded tones of Lateef's rhythm section, especially Ron Carter's bowed cello. The quintet also shines on the following track, Joe Zawinul's "Lateef Minor 7th," where they provide a gentle counterpoint to Lateef's sweet flute line. Not quite as expansive or daring as much of Lateef's other recordings, The Three Faces of Yusef Lateef still documents a fine musician at work during the peak of his career. ---Stacia Proefrock, AllMusic Review

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1.  Goin' Home (Antonin Dvorák/Mark Fisher) 5:04
2.  I'm Just a Lucky So and So (Mack David/Duke Ellington) 4:39
3.  Quarantine (Abe Woodley) 7:03
4.  From Within (Yusef Lateef) 4:14
5.  Salt Water Blues (Yusef Lateef) 6:50
6.  Lateef Minor 7th (Joe Zawinul) 5:01
7.  Adoration (Yusef Lateef) 4:34
8.  Ma (He's Making Eyes at Me) (Sidney Clare/Con Conrad) 4:56

Yusef Lateef (Tenor Saxophone, Oboe, Flute)
Ron Carter (Cello) - 1,2,4-7
Hugh Lawson (Piano, Celeste)
Herman Wright (Double Bass)
Lex Humphries (Drums, Timpani)

On The Three Faces of Yusef Lateef, Riverside seems eager to present Yusef Lateef, technical virtuoso, on a series of songs that step closer to jazz tradition than any of his work in the recent past. Largely absent are Lateef's experiments with Eastern modes, rhythms, and instrumentation, and in their place is a collection of largely upbeat, accessible songs, with a balanced mix of standards and originals. Much of the introspective, personal quality of his previous albums seems lost in the effort, but Lateef's playing still remains stellar, especially on oboe. That instrument, which is by nature soft and muted, is given enough power by Lateef to lead on several songs, most beautifully on "Salt Water Blues," where its naturally melancholy sound seems perfectly matched with the low, rounded tones of Lateef's rhythm section, especially Ron Carter's bowed cello. The quintet also shines on the following track, Joe Zawinul's "Lateef Minor 7th," where they provide a gentle counterpoint to Lateef's sweet flute line. Not quite as expansive or daring as much of Lateef's other recordings, The Three Faces of Yusef Lateef still documents a fine musician at work during the peak of his career. --- Stacia Proefrock. Rovi

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01 1st Movement : The African as Non-American - 6:16
02 2nd Movement : Transmutation - 12:40
03 3rd movement : Love For All - 11:46
04 4th Movement : Freedom - 15:22

Yusef Lateef - Tenor Saxaphone, Germanic Flute, Alto Flute, Indian Flute, Bamboo Flutes,
 Indian temple flute, moan flute, Algaita, Shannie
Ralph Jones - Tenor and Soprano saxaphones, Flute, Bass Clarinet, Hichiriki, Bamboo Flutes
Charles Moore - Dumbek, Flugelhorn, Shofar, Conch Shells
Frederico Ramos - Acoustic and Elecric Guitars, Gimbri
Adam Rudolph - small percussion, cymbals, drums, bells, gong, tabla, didjiridoo, whistles,
 udu clay drums, hand drums, kalgu, kalngu (talking drum)

Cologne Radio Orchestra (Kölner Rundfunkorchester)
David de Villiers - Director (orchestra)

One of the most intriguing and original jazz instrumentalists, Yusef Lateef strives to break down the walls that separate (or compartmentalize) musical idioms. This said, THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EPIC SUITE is congruent with the notion that music is a combination of the world's many so-called "styles." On this early-'90s release, Lateef seeks to show through musical composition the history of African Americans.

Composed in four movements called "The African as Non-American," "Transmutation," "Love for All," and "Freedom," Lateef uses an almost literary technique to outline the plight, woe, and jubilation of Black Americans. The suite opens with soft, jungle-like rumblings and essentially progresses and evolves through many stages of change. In the end, we hear oppression turn to love then to enlightenment then to liberty. Performing with the Cologne Radio Orchestra of Germany and an ensemble called Eternal Wind (Ralph Jones, Frederico Ramos, Adam Rudolph, Charles Moore) this album boldly attempts to bring to life the struggles and joys of Black America through rich orchestration, ominous percussive effects, and Lateef's inimitable reed work. --- AllMusic Review

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