Yusef Lateef, Islam, and jazz

ABSTRACT

A notable characteristic of the jazz scene of 1940s–1960s North America was the large number of African American musicians who converted to Islam. Focusing on the case of the jazz saxophonist and scholar Yusef Lateef (1920–2013), alongside an extensive and newly created list of many other musician converts, this article explores some of the social, historical, and religious factors underlying this phenomenon. It is argued that Islamic conversion and the rise of Bebop should be understood in the context of the polemics of Black philosophers and leaders, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Alain Locke, and Marcus Garvey—a point not adequately addressed in previous scholarship. The complexities and contradictions surrounding the conversion of jazz musicians are also explored. These include the negotiation of Islamic attitudes to music, and instances of the negation of Black identity, but also examples of deep commitment to the Islamic faith, spirituality, and proselytisation (da’wa). Lateef, in particular, is shown to have created an Islamic jazz amalgam that incorporated ‘Eastern’ elements into his ‘autophysiopsychic music’ (his preferred term for ‘jazz’).

KEYWORDS:

• Yusef Lateef
• Islam
• jazz
• autophysiopsychic music
• bebop
• Ahmadiyya
• Black consciousness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Moore (1941–2014) introduced me to Yusef Lateef and helped arrange the interviews.

2 Da‘wa comes from the Arabic verb meaning ‘to call’ or ‘to invite,’ and can encompass proselytisation as well as encouraging practicing Muslims to renew their commitment to Islam (Moore 2014). The da‘i is a person who is doing the calling or inviting (ibid.).

3 To date, I have identified over 180 African American jazz artists who have adopted African, Black Hebrew, or Muslim names. My list builds on those compiled by researchers including Michael Fitzgerald (2005), Marc Manley (2009), and others. The list shows (1) birth name, (2) African, Black Hebrew or Muslim name and (3) instrument(s) (see Appendix). My ongoing research has identified more than 100 further such musicians. However, as this data remains incomplete, the list is not included here.

4 See Lateef and Boyd (2006: 15–18) and ‘YUSEF LATEEF’ (interview by Jazzbook records) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXqBitsrvII (accessed 4 July 2023).

5 For example, Ernestine Anderson, Art Blakey, Donald Byrd, Paul Chambers, Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller, Slide Hampton, Babatunde Olatunji, Clark Terry, and Randy Weston.

6 Lateef’s first recording, as band leader, appeared in 1955 for the Savoy label.

7 Lateef’s other Euro-American classical compositions, include ‘Suite 16/Blues Suite’ (1969), ‘Lalit’ (1974), ‘The Symphony No. 1/Tahira’ (1977),’ and recording of the live concert ‘The World at Peace’ by Yusef Lateef and Adam Rudolph (1995).

8 The movement appears to exist today as The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. See website http://www.unia-acl.org (copyright date 2018). Accessed 25 September 2022.

9 See for example: Lee (2006).

10 In Arabic, Mahdi means ‘The Guided One.’ He is concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of mankind. In addition, he is also perceived as a Redeemer of Islam who, according to some Islamic traditions, will appear and rule before the Day of Judgment or Resurrection and rid the world of evil (Esposito 2004: 185).

11 For details of Black consciousness among Black jazz and popular musicians also see, for example, DeVeaux (1997: 25–27), Kelley (2003: 56–57), and Chase (2010: 165).

12 Barrymore had introduced Blakey to Islam.

13 It has not been possible to verify this claim. Dawud married Dakota Staton (Aliyah Rabia Dawud) in 1958, a premier vocalist of the 1950s.

14 The Messengers’ personnel went through many changes, including the inclusion of non-Muslim members, and under the name the Jazz Messengers became one of the most renowned bands in jazz history.

15 See, for example, Otterbeck (2012), Nasr (1997), Lewisohn (1997), and Şenay (2020) for diverse perspectives on music in Islam.

16 Although recitation of the Qur’an has characteristics in common with secular music, it is not considered to be music (Nelson 1982: 41).

17 See Frishkopf (2008) for a discussion of Islamic music in Africa.

18 Al-Fatiha is the first chapter of the Qur’an.

19 Ernie Farrow plays the rabáb on Lateef’s 1961 album ‘Eastern Sounds’.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eddie S. Meadows

Eddie S. Meadows is Professor Emeritus of Africana Studies, ethnomusicology, and jazz studies at San Diego State University (SDSU), and he was an Adjunct Professor of Global Jazz Studies at UCLA. His publications include several books, including Bebop to Cool: Context, Ideology, and Musical Identity (2003), Jazz Scholarship and Pedagogy: A Research and Information Guide (2006), and African-American Musical Styles: An Introduction (2023), as well as numerous journal articles, encyclopedia entries, and book/record reviews.