Cry! - Tender

Although his main instruments were the tenor saxophone and the fute, Yusef Lateef was known for his innovative blending of jazz with Asian music. In addition to the oboe and bassoon (which are both unusual in jazz), he played various other instruments. Lateef began recording as a leader in 1957 for Savoy Records, a non-exclusive association that continued until 1959. The earliest of his albums for the Prestige subsidiary New Jazz overlap his Savoy Recordings. Cry! - Tender was one of these early albums for New Jazz, recorded during this initial period of Lateef's career and the only session he ever recorded with trumpeter Lonnie Hillyer.