Yusef Lateef

1920 - 2013

About

Yusef Lateef was a Grammy Award-winning composer, performer, recording artist, author, visual artist, educator and philosopher who was a major force on the international musical scene for more than six decades.

As a composer, Yusef Lateef compiled a catalogue of works not only for the quartets and quintets he led, but for symphony and chamber orchestras, stage bands, small ensembles, vocalists, choruses, and various solo instrumental compositions. His extended works have been performed by the WDR (Cologne), NDR (Hamburg), Atlanta, Augusta and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, the Symphony of the New World, Eternal Wind, the GO Organic Orchestra, and the New Century Players from California Insitute of the Arts. In 1987 he won a Grammy Award for his recording of Yusef Lateef’s Little Symphony, on which he performed all the parts. His later extended works include a woodwind quintet, his Symphony No.2, and a concerto for piano and orchestra.

In recognition of his many contributions to the world of music, he was named an American Jazz Master in the year 2010 by the National Endowment for the Arts. Until his passing, Yusef remained vital and active as a touring and recording artist, composer and educator.

Related Information

https://yuseflateef.com/

Works by Yusef Lateef