I've owned this album for years and it is truly sublime. I can't recommend it highly enough. A very special work.

I love This CD!
Yusef Lateef's Talent for Playing Unusual Wind Instruments Really will Romance Your Soul with His Version of "Love Theme From Spartacus"!
This is Indeed a Rare Collector's Item!

Jazz is an ethnic music but not all ethnic music is jazz. Lateef succeeds in uniting the two in "Eastern Sounds" where others fell short. The 1960s decade was crowded with inventive multi instrumental woodwind musicians of note, all of whose music was the precursor of the cross-cultural "World Music" explosion (eg., Oregon, Shadowfax) to follow a decade later. John Coltrane, Roland Kirk, Charles Lloyd, Eric Dolphy, Tony Scott and Yusef Lateef, amoung others, sought inspiration not only from the jazz tradition but folk traditions from around the world. Their most successful albums reinterpret, rather than translate or integrate, the music of exotic locales. "Eastern Sounds" abounds with soulful, luxurious and contemplative sounds. There is even some wonderful swing ( eg., "Snafu"). Surprisingly, Lateef also includes tender readings of two movie love themes, "The Robe" and "Spartacus". This album is THE standard of this genre. You won't be disappointed.

Anybody a bit confused? I bought this as vinyl a long time ago, and it was called "Blues for the Orient". I liked it then, and I still like it. Lateef was experiencing with different scales or keys, and the result is nice and unique. This is one of his best in terms of being memorable, and only a few others were doing this exploring at that time. Flute is great, sax is great, and the rhythm section moves. Buy it.

An alltime jazz clasic and near perfect jazz album.Eastern Sounds is an essential component of any jazz afecionado's collection!Yusef Lateef is at the height of his God given powers on this tour de force, yet subtle and tender rendering.The remastering by Rudy Van Gelder(who is among the very best jazz recording engineers ever) is exceptional and brings this collection to spectacular fidelity.