Psychicemotus

by Yusef Lateef

Overview

Psychicemotus was released in 1965 and features Yusef Lateef on various flutes and tenor saxophone, Georges Arvanitas on piano, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer James Black. And while the Coltrane era of modal and free jazz was in full swing, Lateef always followed his own muse, and continued looking forward while looking back to ancient musics. His use of bamboo and Chinese wood flutes on the title track and "Bamboo Flute Blues" added not only dimension and texture, but rhythmic invention to standard jazz forms. Yet his readings of Jerome Kern's and Oscar Hammerstein's "Why Do I Love You," on which he plays tenor, swings elegantly while incorporating both hard bop and angular outside playing in his solo. Arvanitas is a near perfect foil for Lateef in that while he's not as technically flashy as Barry Harris, he is a deeply sympathetic player who uses accents and ostinati as grounding points, and prefigures rhythmic changes rather than just comping. The beautiful reading of Erik Satie's "First Gymnopedie" on which Lateef plays flute is an utterly beautiful, restrained, and adventurous reading, and is allowed to resonate rhythmically with hand-percussion fills by Black. While not Lateef's finest recording for Impulse (Live at Pep's takes the cake), it certainly is a worthy and memorable one. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	07/14/2023
Label:	Verve
UPC:	0602455212382
Rank:	28567

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Yusef Lateef   Primary Artist,Oboe,Flute,Percussion,Tambourine,Sax (Tenor),Bamboo Flute,Chinese Flute
James Black   Drums,Percussion,Indian Bells
Reggie Workman   Bass
Georges Arvanitas   Piano

Technical Credits

Bob Thiele   Audio Production,Producer,Original Recording Producer
Jerome Kern   Composer
Andy Razaf   Composer
Bob Irwin   Reissue Mastering
B.T. Green   Composer
Fats Waller   Composer
Robert Flynn   Cover Design
Rudy Van Gelder   Engineer
Harry Brooks   Composer
Yusef Lateef   Arranger,Composer
Bryan Koniarz   Reissue Producer
Bud Green   Composer
Erik Satie   Composer
Herman Ruby   Composer
Ken Druker   Executive Producer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Sam H. Stept   Composer
Charles Stewart   Cover Photo,Photography
Jayme Pieruzzi   Reissue Mastering
H. Brooks   Composer
Hollis King   Reissue Art Director
Joe Lebow   Liner Design
Ahmad Basheer   Liner Notes