| Summary: | A pioneering, unique figure of african-american multi-instrumentalist, composer, researcher and philosopher, but also visual artist, music publisher and record producer, Yusef Abdul Lateef was born in 1920. Detroit-based, he became a Muslim in a period during which several jazzmen adhered to Islam for both racial and religious reasons. Since Lateef became an Ahmadiyya Muslim, his musical search-documented in several recordings-resulted in a stimulating and artistic musical hybrid of american, african and asian sources. After relocating in New York (where he played, among others, with John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Cannonball Adderley), he started a research that brought him to Nigeria, among Hausa people. His commitment as an artist, writer, theoretician, publisher and scholar led to his academic tenure at Ahmerst University, Massachusetts, and to his recognition as a respected “prophet” of world music.
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