Track Listing
1. African as Non-American, The
2. Transmutation
3. Love For All
4. Freedom
| Details | | Playing Time: | 46 min. | | Contributing Artists: | Cologne Radio Orchestra, Cologne West German Radio Orchestra, Eternal Wind | | Producer: | Ulrich Kurth | | Distributor: | Navarre | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Personnel: Yusef Lateef (tenor saxophone, Germanic flute, alto flute, bamboo flute, Indian temple flute, moan flute, algaita, shannie).
Eternal Wind: Ralph Jones (soprano & tenor saxophones, flute, bamboo flute, bass clarinet, hichiriki); Charles Moore (flugelhorn, shofar, dumbek, conch shells); Adam Rudolph (whistle, hand drums, tabla, talking drums, udu drum, percussion, cymbals, bells, gongs); Federico Ramos (acoustic & electric guitars, gimbre).
Additional personnel: David De Villiers (conductor); Cologne Radio Orchestra.
Recorded at WDR, Cologne, Germany from October 25 - November 3, 1993. Includes liner notes by Ulrich Kurth and Yusef Lateef.
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.
Editorial Reviews
...a work dealing with elements of the journey of the African diaspora....Lateef emotes with an animalism that is deep, passionate, and almost ritualistic in its intesity. This is a work that requires careful listening, and one that will yield impressions that are quite true to the composer's intent.
JazzTimes (03/01/1997)
...a work dealing with elements of the journey of the African diaspora....Lateef emotes with an animalism that is deep, passionate, and almost ritualistic in its intesity. This is a work that requires careful listening, and one that will yield impressions that are quite true to the composer's intent.
JazzTimes (03/01/1997)
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