JAZZ REVIEW : Lateef, Rudolph Blend the Sounds of Global Jazz

The colorful array of instruments spread across the stage of the Jazz Bakery Friday night--a shenai, didjeridoo, dumbek, kalimba and oud, in addition to more familiar saxophones and brass--immediately underscored Yusef Lateef’s status as one of the first jazz globalists. As far back as the 1950s he was actively pursuing the connections between jazz and the music of the Middle East, Asia and Africa, and his fascination with such syntheses continues into his 74th year.

Making a very rare Los Angeles appearance, Lateef’s two-night booking at the Bakery (he performed Saturday as well) linked him with percussionist Adam Rudolph, another world music pioneer and a longtime Lateef associate, in the premiere performance of “The World at Peace,” a jointly composed, 14-part eclectic work for a 12-piece ensemble.

Despite the joint composition credit, however, most of the segments were composed either by Lateef or Rudolph, with only four identified as collective creations. Nevertheless, the music had a similarity and consistency of style that reached beyond either composer--due, in part, to the extensive reliance placed upon the stitching of improvisational sections into the written portions of the piece.

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It was especially rewarding to hear Lateef on tenor saxophone. Although most of his solos were built around Eastern-tinged modal sources rather than the in-the-pocket blues foundation that was characteristic of his earlier work, Lateef’s robust sound and dynamic phrasing brought the sheer essence of jazz history to every note he played.

Rudolph’s drumming, in a different way, was equally fascinating, spinning with lightning speed and propulsive acceleration across four different varieties of hand percussion.

Among the other fine artists, Ralph Jones’ bass clarinet, Charles Moore’s trumpet, Eric von Essen’s bass and Susan Allen’s impressive harp playing were standouts.

“The World at Peace,” however, although filled with attractive individual passages, never quite came together as an entirety. If there were structural connections between the segments, they were never apparent. The net result was a series of small, separate works--some more appealing than others--whose sole unity seemed to be Lateef and Rudolph’s desire to blend jazz improvisation with unusual instrumental timbres and occasional excursions into contemporary dissonances.