This massive four-disc set of Yusef Lateef's first recordings as a leader was issued by Spain's Fresh Sound imprint and contains a total of eight different records, all but one recorded under the guidance of engineer Rudy Van Gelder for the Savoy, Verve, and Prestige/New Jazz imprints. Considering he was 37 when he began recording as a leader -- and had served tenures in New York with Hot Lips Page, Roy Eldridge, and Ernie Fields -- Lateef was fully developed as a composer and arranger. His band for these sessions is stellar. His Detroit crew was comprised of monsters even as the band mutated a bit: the original unit featured Lateef with trombonist Curtis Fuller, bassist Ernie Farrow, pianist Hugh Lawson, and drummer Louis Hayes. Changes would take place later in the year: Oliver Jackson replaced Hayes, and flugelhorn boss Wilbur Harden took over the chair vacated by Fuller. In the Lateef vision, these differences were all part of the plan: exploring his passions in uniting African and Asian folk traditions with American music.
- Yusef Lateef (ts, fl, vcl, assorted instruments),
- Curtis Fuller (tb),
- Wilbur Harden (flh, tambourine),
- Hugh Lawson (p, metalphone, ocarina),
- Ernie Farrow (b),
- Louis Hayes, Oliver Jackson (d)
CD 1
01. Beauregard (3:36)
02. O'Blues (9:12)
03. Happyology (11:16)
04. Midday (7:54)
05. Polarity (7:05)
06. Ameena (7:09)
07. Space (5:54)
08. Metaphor (8:07)
09. Morning (10:36)
10. The Beginning (4:10)
CD 2
01. G. Bouk (10:16)
02. Blues in Space (7:06)
03. Yusef's Mood (8:34)
04. Passion (4:06)
05. Love is Eternal (6:32)
06. Pike's Peak (5:32)
07. Open Strings (6:16)
08. Before Down (5:28)
09. Twenty Five Minute Blues (5:29)
10. Chang Chang Chang (2:59)
11. Constellation (4:49)
12. Seulb (6:14)
13. Sounds of Nature (3:47)
CD 3
01. Song of Delilah (8:22)
02. 8540 Twelfth Street (4:25)
03. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good (6:20)
04. Check Blues (6:40)
05. Prayer to the East (8:18)
06. A Night in Tunisia (9:50)
07. Lover Man (6:38)
08. Endura (13:08)
09. Love Dance (6:45)
10. Sram (5:37)
11. Gypsy Arab (3:26)
CD 4
01. Playful Flute (4:18)
02. Taboo (9:10)
03. Ecaps (6:34)
04. All Alone (5:06)
05. Anastasia (4:13)
06. Love and Humour (6:13)
07. Buckingham (5:10)
08. Lambert's Point (4:44)
09. Meditation (4:43)
10. Mahaba (3:50)
11. Minor Mood (9:37)
12. Take the A Train (11:13)
