The Doctor Is In And Out has some interesting stuff on it... but like so many later Yusef albums it's a bit uneven. Dana McCurdy plays ARP2600, but its mainly used as a gimmicky random pitch computer sound effect on the track "Technological Homosapien" which features a spoken monologue about technology & stuff. The best tracks are the Kenny Barron composed "Hellbound" and my favourite "Mystique." The rest is pretty average IMO but worth having for the above. Also featured are Ron Carter, Al Foster, Dom Um Romao. [KD]

Autophysiopsychic isn't completely awful... the second side has "Communication", an okay club cut that's handily anchored by Gary King's quite flatulent funk broom. And man, Eric Gale's riff on "Sister Mamie" is totally slinky. Note that this record was arranged by David Matthews, whose own CTI questionables (Shoogie Wanna Boogie and Dune) are similarly dodgy lps. Yusef also birthed In A Temple Garden for CTI in 1979. Check the warning signs (Steve Gadd and Will Lee rhythm section, Brecker Bros alert) and really, the lameness of this album should come as no surprise. The disco grooves have been diluted, the production is bigger and more lifeless, and the music now closer resembles a poor travelogue soundtrack. Yup, this'd be a great distance from Detroit (or Gentle Giant, for that matter.) [DW]

In Nigeria should definitely be on some of you's lists ... recorded in (duh) Lagos with folks playing drums and traditional instruments. Mostly drums w/ Lateef soloing mightily behind (oddly enough (or not so oddly) the drums are mixed up, him back). Hellacious polyrhythmic grooves with fatass soundin tenor roaring away. Some tracks feature an instrument that sounds like one of those plunger birdwhistles you had as a kid, a sound that reduced a room full of adults to stupid grins in less than a minute when I played this the other night. Highly recommended. For the more usual stuff, well I don't think you can go wrong with Lateef on Atlantic ... Yusef Lateef's Detroit is my favorite of what I've heard but I've never heard a bad one. [JF]

Wow! I am only a fan. I can tell that my brother Ayyub is probably a musician. I am 50 years old. I have listened to Dr.Lateef for as long as I can remeber. My brother is right, the older stuff is better or at least more complicated. I have never heard anyone chop up Yuseff's work in that manner. Finally I used-In A Temple Garden-to introduce others to his older stuff, since they were not jazz fans yet, I hooked them with his more contemporary stuff.
[Yusuf AbdulMajeed]

I'm new to this but the early Yusef Lateef is much superior to his later stuff...check his first albums like Jazz Moods and Before Dawn....killer modal/eastern crossover... hi hi
Peace
[Ayyub King]