Yusef Lateef - The Centaur and the Phoenix

1992 CD reissue.

The full force of Yusef Lateef’s probing musical personality made itself known on this stunning 1960 date. Lateef assembled an unusual nine-piece band, with three brass, three striking reeds (baritone sax, bassoon, and whichever of four instruments the leader might be blowing at the moment), and three rhythm. Among the ranks of the personnel are established stars Clark Terry and Curtis Fuller, the then-unknown Joe Zawinul, and such journeymen deserving of wider recognition as Richard Williams and Tate Houston. In addition to Lateef’s typically deep compositions, there are an ambitious pair by Charles Mills and the first recorded writing (before his debut as a player) by a teenaged Kenny Barron. Two bonus tracks with percussion and voices were originally released as a 45-RPM single only.