By Ziad Nawfal
In addition to his impressive mastery of the tenor saxophone, Yusef Lateef was by the 1950’s one of the top flutists on the American jazz scene. He did not care much for the term “jazz”, however, did not consider himself (only) a bop or hard-bop soloist, and has consistently created music that stretches and breaks boundaries.
Born William Evans on October 9, 1920 in Chatanooga, Tennessee, Lateef also developed into a gifted soloist on oboe, was an occasional bassoonist, and introduced such instruments as the argol (a double clarinet that resembles a bassoon), shanai (a type of oboe), and different types of flutes. Lateef played “world music” long before the term came into (over)use, and pairing him with Abdelkebir Merchane’s renowned Gnawa troupe, on the occasion of Sharjah Biennial 10, is a stroke of genius.
Mr. Lateef, were you aware of the musicians that you will be playing with before this rehearsal? Had you heard them before?
No I had never heard them before, but I used to work with Babatunde Olatunji [a Nigerian drummer, educator and social activist who passed away in 2003].
Do you find it difficult, nowadays, to work and find common ground with younger musicians?
Not yet (laughs). There’s always a first time, but I hope it never happens.
Is this your first visit to the Arab world?
I’ve been on a pilgrimage to Mecca three times, and to Medina a couple of times. But I’ve never played in the Arab world before.
When you were contacted to do the collaboration with Abdelkebir Merchane and his group, did you experience any doubts or hesitation?
No, but I did make some enquiries, just to find out what the instrumentation was. I assumed it would be close to what I recorded with Randy Weston years ago [on Weston’s Uhuru Afrika, released in 1960, to be exact]. We played some African and some Gnawa pieces back then. I heard Gnawa for the first time in New York. Everything makes it to New York eventually, you know. So it was nothing new, really. But it was a challenge, yes. Performing this kind of music gives you a lot of harmonic freedom. Playing the piano puts a handicap on you, in the sense that you have to relate to the harmonic structure. When there’s no piano, you have more freedom. With wind instruments, you have more harmonic freedom. There’s a lot of spaces in between... You can play tones that are not traditional, not 440. Listen to this, for example (he demonstrates on the flute). It’s liberating. I’m always striving for liberty of expression, trying to create a voice. It’s a challenge to create a voice. It’s what I’ve been trying to do.