Yusef Lateef, innovative tenor saxophonist, oboist, flutist and composer, died on December 23 after a brief illness, his wife Ayesha confirmed. He was 93.
During a career that spanned more than six decades, Lateef played with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Mingus, Cannonball Adderley and other big names of jazz. But he is perhaps best known for being one of the first musicians to incorporate the music of other cultures into jazz.
Lateef was born William Emanuel Huddleston on Oct. 9, 1920, in Chattanooga, Tenn. In 1925, his family moved to Detroit, and during his youth he became involved in the local jazz scene. He was playing with prominent jazz musicians Hot Lips Page and Roy Eldridge by the time he was 18.
He changed his name when he converted to Islam in 1948. In 1949, Lateef became a member of the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, playing bebop, a style of jazz that was new and innovative at the time.
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