Yusef Lateef - Russell and Eliot

This is my joint right here! A funky but heavy rolling jazz number that starts slow and builds up dramatically. Yusef plays tenor sax over a tight bass line that anchors the rhythm section. "The world's most recorded drummer" Bernard Purdie lays down his signature super-tight drums. Eric Gale's guitar adds to the deep mood of the song and sounds to me like a blues singer wailing over the steady rhythm.

Russell and Eliot first appeared on the album Yusef Lateef's Detroit in 1969 but I recorded this from a 1970 jazz compilation called Jazz Super Hits Vol 2 on the Atlantic label. The name of the song refers to an intersection in Detroit where Lateef grew up.

Russell and Eliot
Yusef Lateef
(mp3 format, 4:58 mins, 4.6 mb)