Although he was born October 9, 1920, in Chattanooga Tennessee, we in Detroit can claim YUSEF LATEEF as a cultural treasure, having lived his formative years in our city. The multi-instrumentalist and spiritual inspiration was born William Emmanuel Huddleston, his family moving to Detroit before his 5th birthday. Yusef met and performed with many of the jazz greats who played and/or resided here in Detroit, such as Elvin Jones and Paul Chambers while working on his degree in music at Wayne State University.
Yusef's career on record began with an issue of a live date with trumpeter Donald Byrd at Detroit's New World Stage Theatre on August 23, 1955. His earliest session as leader was produced for the Savoy Records label on April 5, 1957, and released as "Jazz for the Thinker". These early sessions featured Yusef on the tenor saxophone and flute, but Yusef was already exploring the use of instruments from all over the world such as Chinese wood flutes, the shenai, argol and the Western oboe normally thought of as a classical orchestral instrument. His love of nature went back to his childhood, and Yusef began to explore themes of nature in his music.
Yusef would go on to study, reside and teach music in New York City, spent time in Nigeria and eventually settle in Amherst Massachusetts where he became part of the faculty there. He was known to many as THE GENTLE GIANT for his music, his demeanor and approach to life. He would go on to form his own independent record label, YAL RECORDS, after countless recordings for major jazz labels such as Prestige, Impulse, and Atlantic. Yusef's interest in world music and ambient sounds would continue with forays into "new age" music later in his career. Yusef would leave us on December 23, 2013, at the age of 93, leaving behind a legacy of recordings, memories and inspiration drawing not only from music but from life itself.
WHFR PRESENTS will begin an in-depth exploration of the music of Yusef Lateef, beginning on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9, from 4-7pm EST. The presentation will continue weekly for multiple weeks, delving into a history of music ranging from 1955-2009. Each segment will run for three hours, focusing on specific time periods on Sundays from 4-7pm EST right here on WHFR-FM 89.3 over the airwaves and whfr.fm online worldwide.
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WHFR PRESENTS airs every Sunday beginning (usually) at 4:00 pm with a rotating cast of WHFR DJs, taking in-depth looks into the many genres of music that WHFR has to offer. Tune in at 89.3 on the FM dial in Dearborn/Detroit and surrounding communities, or listen anywhere via our online streamer.
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