Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston; October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz musician who played many instruments, composed music, and was an important figure in the Ahmadiyya Community in the United States.

Lateef’s main instruments were the tenor saxophone and flute. He also played the oboe and bassoon, which are uncommon in jazz, as well as instruments from other cultures, such as the bamboo flute, shehnai, shofar, xun, arghul, and koto. He is known for combining jazz with music from Eastern traditions. Peter Keepnews, who wrote an obituary about Lateef for the New York Times, said that Lateef "played world music before world music had a name."

Lateef wrote several books, including two novellas titled A Night in the Garden of Love and Another Avenue, two collections of short stories titled Spheres and Rain Shapes, and his autobiography, The Gentle Giant, which he wrote with Herb Boyd. He owned a record label called YAL Records and a music publishing company named Fana Music. Through Fana Music, he published his own works, including Yusef Lateef's Flute Book of the Blues and many of his orchestral compositions.

Biography

Lateef was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as William Emanuel Huddleston. His family moved to Lorain, Ohio, in 1923, and then to Detroit, Michigan, in 1925. His father changed the family's name to Evans at that time.

During his early years, Lateef met many famous jazz musicians in Detroit, such as vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Paul Chambers, drummer Elvin Jones, and guitarist Kenny Burrell. By the time he graduated from high school at 18, Lateef was already a skilled saxophonist. He began his professional career and toured with several swing bands. His first instrument was an alto saxophone, but after one year, he switched to the tenor saxophone, inspired by the playing style of Lester Young.

In 1949, Dizzy Gillespie invited Lateef to tour with his orchestra. In 1950, Lateef returned to Detroit and started studying composition and flute at Wayne State University. During this time, he joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, converted to Islam, and changed his name. He made two trips to Mecca as part of his religious practice.

Lateef began recording music as a leader in 1957 for Savoy Records. His recordings with Savoy continued until 1959. His early work with Prestige Records' New Jazz label overlapped with these recordings. Musicians like trumpeter Wilbur Harden, bassist Herman Wright, drummer Frank Gant, and pianist Hugh Lawson played with Lateef during this time. In 1960, Lateef and his band performed a long gig at the Minor Key, a non-alcoholic club in Detroit.

By 1961, Lateef's music had a strong presence in group settings. His recordings, such as Into Something and Eastern Sounds, included instruments from Eastern cultures, like the rahab, shanai, arghul, koto, and Chinese wooden flutes and bells. He also used the Western oboe, which was unusual in jazz. His music combined jazz standards, blues, and film music, often supported by a piano, bass, and drums. Lateef also contributed to other artists' albums, including his time with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley's Quintet from 1962 to 1964.

In the late 1960s, Lateef added soul and gospel styles to his music, along with a strong blues foundation. Albums like Detroit and Hush 'N' Thunder showed this change, which helped shape the later development of jazz fusion. Lateef disliked the terms "jazz" and "jazz musician" because he believed they did not fully describe the range of his music. In the 1980s, he explored new-age and spiritual music styles.

In 1960, Lateef returned to school and studied flute at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He earned a bachelor's degree in music in 1969 and a master's degree in music education in 1970. From 1971 onward, he taught courses in "autophysiopsychic music" at the Manhattan School of Music and became an associate professor at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.

In 1975, Lateef received a Doctorate in Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His dissertation compared Western and Islamic education. He later worked as a senior research fellow at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria. In 1986, he returned to the United States and taught at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Hampshire College.

His 1987 album Yusef Lateef's Little Symphony won a Grammy Award for Best New Age Recording. Lateef always said his music was rooted in jazz.

In 1992, Lateef founded YAL Records. In 1993, he was asked by the WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne to compose The African American Epic Suite, a four-part work for orchestra and quartet based on themes of slavery and disfranchisement in the United States. This piece has been performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

In 2005, filmmakers Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel made a documentary called Brother Yusef, showing Lateef living in a wooden house in a forest in Massachusetts. In 2010, he received the Jazz Master Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor in jazz.

The Manhattan School of Music, where Lateef earned his bachelor's and master's degrees, gave him its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012.

Lateef's final recordings were made for Adam Rudolph's Meta Records. Until his death, he taught at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Smith College, and Hampshire College. Lateef passed away from prostate cancer on December 23, 2013, at the age of 93. He was survived by his wife, Ayesha, and his son, Yusef.

After his death, his family sold many of his instruments to ensure they would continue to be used. Woodwind player Jeff Coffin bought Lateef's main tenor saxophone and his bass flute.

In October 2020, the UMass Fine Arts Center celebrated the 100th anniversary of Lateef's birth with an online exhibit called Yusef Lateef: A Centenary Celebration. The event included a series of video tributes from artists, collaborators, and students who admired his work.

Publications

• Collection of Scales and Melodies. Massachusetts: Fana Music. 1981.
• Ziky Kofoworola and Yusef Lateef (1987). Hausa Performing Arts and Music. Nigeria: Department of Culture, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.
• Night in the Garden of Love. Massachusetts: Alnur Music. 1988.
• Yusef Lateef and Herb Boyd (2005). The Gentle Giant: The Autobiography of Yusef Lateef. Morton Books Inc.

Personal life

Lateef remembered that his favorite part of childhood was "My passion for nature."

In 1980, Lateef decided he would not perform in places where alcohol was served. In 1999, he said: "Too much effort has been put into creating this music to play it in places where people are smoking, drinking, and talking."

Lateef's first wife, Tahira, died before him, as did his son and daughter.