The one, the only, the great Yusef Lateef, proclamator of Autophysiopsychic music (mental, physical spiritual music), has been a master and a genius of jazz music for many, many decades. Tonight, we are celebrating 85 years of his life and his music here at the Herbst Theater in
Orrin Keepnews, the long time producer and owner of
As I am sitting and listening to Orrin, a wonderful thing happened. There was a gentleman who was to be seated next to me for the performance. As he was escorted to his seat, I overheard him say that he had just had dinner with Yusef backstage for Yusef’s birthday and that his name was Prince. Now, I am not talking about the leader of the New Power Generation, but Prince La Sha, the extraordinary tenor, flute, barritone and multi-instrumental wonder of jazz music. I introduced myself and we ended up hanging out until 3am, looking at pictures of him and Sonny, Trane, Woody, McCoy, Elvin, Ron Carter as well as listening to music that he composed featuring these cats, Herbie and many others. I will tell you that story another time but, it was a fantastic encounter.
Yusef produces such serene sounds! Healing sounds. The wonders of the East are upon us and his oboe enchants and speaks in the silence. Adam Rudolph has an arsenal of percussive instruments on stage ready for any encounter including those of the third kind.
Joseph Bowie blows wind through the mouthpiece of his trombone ever so slightly. A soft calming breeze barely audible assisted by silence and the exchange of resonating gongs, dissonant angular strikes from Sylvie Courvoisier on piano and Yusef switching from oboe to tenor to flute to bamboo flute. This is mental music that paints abstract pictures all through your mind while stretching each instrument way beyond its intended boundaries.
It’s like dreaming in a rapid eye movement maze, walking with caution on clouds of darkness, floating, guided only by the sounds of silent blows, footsteps of percussion and ghostly shrieks of imaginary goblin like sounds. It’s seems a bit spooky, but there is no fear. You walk with confidence on the premonition of a path that already has your name on its destination. You listen to the faint touches, taps and blows that suggest an endless array of infinite potential in an enchanted forest of sound where all things are possible.
Strings of the piano plucked, muted and taped down sound like spiders running with tap shoes on all eight legs. There are wooden flutes, African chants, improvisation of didgeridoo sounds and a constant source of evenness in the silence which acts as a conduit for a plethora of cacophonic separation. Yusef rocks back and forth as if to be channeling this energy. Breaking down the molecules of life, extracting the poison and restructuring the deoxyribonucleic acid to form a perfect strand of pure love.
If you are lost in the maze of your mind there are constant clues to put you back on the intended path. The music resembles life in the same sense that we may not know where we are going until we experience déjà vu. There are triumphs, pitfalls, obstacles, encumbrances, encroachments, serenity, confusion, enlightenment, mayhem, and cliff hangers that can only be understood when tapped into a super hypnotic state of intellectual altered worlds.
Yusef reads his poetry with the music. He speaks of leaves that wave at you and protoplasmic flowers plucked and floating towards death. What was their mission? These are thoughts about life that extend way beyond the box of knowing and into the search for that which we do not know that we do not know. A realm that exist in a galaxy floating with answers to questions not even comprehensible enough to fathom. These are more than just poems, they are prayers and he is praying for us. He is praying for the life of humanity. When the leaves blow in the wind and wave to you that is life saying hello, did you overlook the pleasantry? Is the flower’s purpose to be pulled from the life of precious mother earth and put in a vase just to please us? What is their purpose?
Wisdom is sought from the ancient mystical tribal spirit of the music. Yusef is summoning the spirit for these answers and he weeps in the process. He is seeing life from another plane and he feels the pain from all of our useless self destruction.
I was in a deep state of relaxation with my eyes closed and I felt the music plunge into my soul and begin to lift my spirit with its healing powers. I should have let it take me, but instead, I opened my eyes and dropped back into my seat. We are all afraid of the unknown. Perhaps there was a message that was waiting for me that I missed.
On stage these four minds and four bodies tap into something that resembles prayer, healing and goodness. These prayers are to eradicate evil and promote love, life and waves of light. I hope that there are answers out there because the music, poetry and prayers are for us!
LeRoy Downs
