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Yusef Lateef was an American jazz musician, artist, composer, and producer, born on October 9, 1920, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He passed away on December 23, 2013, in Amherst, Massachusetts, at the age of 93. A multi-instrumentalist, Lateef was primarily known for his mastery of the tenor saxophone and flute, but he also played the oboe and bassoon, which are rare in jazz. He was a prominent figure in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in America after converting to Islam in 1950. Lateef's music transcended traditional jazz boundaries, as he consistently created innovative compositions and disliked the term "jazz." His soulful sound and impressive technique made him a superior tenor saxophonist and one of the top flutists in the genre. He also developed his skills as a jazz soloist on the oboe and occasionally played the bassoon. Throughout his career, Lateef introduced various non-western instruments, including the bamboo flute, shanai, shofar, xun, arghul, and koto, into his performances, effectively playing "world music" long before the term became popular.

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