Yusef Lateef

Oboe and bassoon rarely turn up on a bandstand, yet both sat alongside tenor saxophone and flute in Yusef Lateef's kit, as did shehnai, shofar, xun, arghul and koto. He became an innovator in blending improvisation with 'Eastern' traditions.

After touring with Dizzy Gillespie's orchestra in 1949, he converted to Islam through the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and began making albums as a leader in 1957. By Into Something and Eastern Sounds in 1961, those influences were unmistakable, wrapped around standards, blues and film themes. Soul and gospel phrasing crept in during the late 1960s on Detroit and Hush 'N' Thunder, with spiritual explorations following in the 1980s.

Yusef Lateef's Little Symphony won a Grammy for Best New Age Recording, yet he insisted: 'My music is jazz.' He taught for decades and, from 1980, refused to perform anywhere alcohol was served. He died in 2013, aged 93.