Yusef Lateef - But Beautiful

from "10 Years Hence" (1975), Atlantic.

Yusef Lateef - tenor saxophone ;
Kenneth Barron - piano ;
Bob Cunningham - bass ;
Albert "Kuumba" Heath - drums.

Written by Jimmy Van Heussen and Johnny Burke.
Recorded live at Keystone Korner, San Francisco, California.
Produced by Joel Dorn.

[icemiles]

What a great rendition of this classic!! I had the great pleasure of being in the audience on the actual night of this show, on June 25, 1974. Still got the "ticket stub" and the unique Blue Keystone Korner flyer, from that show. Yusef was truly underrated and IS still underrated!! This tune is an example of his "economy of notes", playing cool and thoughtfully, at the same time. Sure, the encore tune, "I Be Cold" brought the house down, later on in the night. I can attest to that!!! However, this tune epitomizes "smoothness and ease" beyond words. Didn't know who Kenny Barron was at the time, but found out quickly that night!! I have had the pleasure of seeing him two addt'l times since. Tremendous pianist, who is still kicking ass!! Had chance meeting with drummer, Tootie Heath, in the restroom during set break. Nice guy, graciously accepted my kudos to the band!... Bought this album later on, didn't care for additional strings, chorus, etc., being added in, it was over the top and lost the ambience in the room. Considering how great the "Raw" Live version was, it was a bad production decision. "But Beatiful" exemplifies how truly great the show was in person. Still have very fond memories of that show, since it was during my only visit to San Francisco. ***Recently purchased copy of "Portrait of a Jazz Club: Keystone Korner. Can't wait to read additional stories about the legendary club, possibly even stories about this evening/album.

[nealhorwitz]

Ah, beautiful, beautiful, thanks for posting, Brother John, have not heard it in decades, gorgeous. Will wait for Yusef's Mood next..

[TheFunkyKingston]

Great multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef...!