Grammy-winning saxophonist Yusef Lateef dies at age 93; incorporated world music into jazz

SHUTESBURY, Mass. – Grammy-winning musician and composer Yusef Lateef, one of the first to incorporate world music into traditional jazz, has died. He was 93.

The Douglass Funeral Home in Amherst, Mass., says Lateef died Monday at his home in Shutesbury.

Lateef, a tenor saxophonist known for his impressive technique, also became a top flutist. He was a jazz soloist on the oboe and played bassoon. He introduced different types of flutes and other woodwind instruments from many countries into his music. He’s credited with playing world music before it was officially named.

He was a performer, composer and music educator. In 1987, he won a Grammy Award for his new age recording “Yusef Lateef’s Little Symphony,” and in 2010, he received the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award.