Eastern Sounds is an album by jazz saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef, recorded in 1961. The album features Lateef's continued exploration of Middle Eastern music, which were incorporated into his version of hard bop with a quartet featuring Barry Harris on piano. The opening track features Lateef on Chinese globular flute,[3] generally called xun.[4] The fusing of musical genres was not a new thing in jazz or for Lateef as his 1957 album Prayer to the East incorporated the shehnai and Middle Eastern influences in playing jazz standards.[5] Aside from Lateef's original compositions, there are covers of themes from the films Spartacus and The Robe, the last one being used as samples by Blockhead and Nujabes.
| Eastern Sounds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1962 | |||
| Recorded | September 5, 1961 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey | |||
| Genre | Hard bop | |||
| Length | 39:54 | |||
| Label | Moodsville MVLP 22 | |||
| Producer | Esmond Edwards | |||
| Yusef Lateef chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |  [2] |
Track listing edit
- "The Plum Blossom" (Yusef Lateef) – 5:03
- "Blues for the Orient" (Lateef) – 5:40
- "Ching Miau" (Lateef) – 3:20
- "Don't Blame Me" (Jimmy McHugh) – 4:57
- "Love Theme from Spartacus" (Alex North) – 4:15
- "Snafu" (Lateef) – 5:42
- "Purple Flower" (Lateef) – 4:32
- "Love Theme from The Robe" (Alfred Newman) – 4:02
- "The Three Faces of Balal" (Lateef) – 2:23
Trivia edit
Singer-songwriter Cat Stevens was inspired by the melody of the opening track to write his first hit single "I Love My Dog" (1966). Lateef later received credits and royalties for it.[6]
Personnel edit
- Yusef Lateef – flute, oboe, tenor saxophone, xun (called "Chinese globular flute" in liner notes)
- Barry Harris – piano
- Ernie Farrow – double bass, Rabaab (called "rabat" in liner notes)
- Lex Humphries – drums
References edit
- ^ Jurek, Thom. Eastern Sounds at AllMusic
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 867. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ All About Jazz
- ^ Naxos
- ^ "Boston Phoenix". Archived from the original on 2005-08-28. Retrieved 2006-11-11.
- ^ "Disc 1". In Search of the Centre of the Universe (booklet). Cat Stevens Box Set. Island Records. 2001. p. 64. 314 85 285-2.
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