There are certain jazz albums that transcend the genre and become timeless classics. Eastern Sounds by Yusef Lateef is one of those albums. It is a stirring, meditative musical excursion of sound, that could be considered a precursor of world music, or even a more nuanced, textured, and varied early new age recording, without the negative baggage of that now almost nearly forgotten musical genre.
The closest album that it shares some musical and spiritual sensibilities with is Something Blue from Paul Horn, released the year before this 1961 release. Both albums are almost musical mantras of sound, but are also very accessible releases that don’t stray too far from mellow jazz.
Lateef had been exploring these kinds of sounds on previous albums as a leader, most notably on Prayer to the East from 1957, but Eastern Sounds galvanizes all of the elements that make Lateef’s take on this sacred jazz sound work so well. While the album starts off with the subtle swing of “The Plum Bossom” and readings of the love themes of the epic films Spartacus (Alex North) and The Robe (Alfred Newman), it’s the other six tracks that reflect more of the contemplative side of this groundbreaking album.
Lateef is supported by the rhythm section of Barry Harris on piano, Lex Humphries on drums, and Ernie Farrow on bass. Farrow also plays rabat (spelled various other ways through history), a lute-like instrument that blends perfectly with Lateef’s work here on tenor saxophone, oboe, and especially flute, the Chinese globular xun.
This may be the best so far of the newly revived Original Jazz Classics reissue series from Craft Recordings. This album has been reissued many times over the years, including a long out-of-print, bespoke Small Batch One-Step version in 2021. The original album was recorded by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder.
This all-analog reissue was cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and the recording was pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI. The sound is quiet and the pressing is immaculate. The OBI-strip, which was a distinguishing feature of the OJC series, is lovingly replicated.
This is one of those jazz albums that can be appreciated by even non-jazz fans for its sheer beauty. It also is a must-have for any jazz fans. It’s so great to see this release available in such a beautiful, analog package at an affordable price. It is easily the best single-album jazz reissue of the young year.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A
