Essentially, this seven-disc box contains most -- though not all -- of the titles that Collectables Records released individually from Yusef Lateef's long tenure with Atlantic Records. They are not compiled chronologically, there isn't any booklet to accompany them, and the slipcase itself is rather ugly. That said, the great majority of the music here is truly brilliant. There's the band that made The Complete Yusef Lateef in 1967, the tough and funky Yusef Lateef's Detroit: Latitude 42º 30' Longitude 83º, and The Blue Yusef Lateef in 1969. The musicians on those sessions included Lateef (vocals, alto and tenor saxophones, flute, oboe); Hugh Lawson (piano); Cecil McBee (bass); and Roy Brooks (drums). Two more spacious mid-'70s recordings are included as well in Hush 'n' Thunder and The Doctor Is in & Out, both with stellar lineups. Finally, there are two adventurous, multi-textured, classically disciplined works from the late '80s and early '90s: Concerto for Yusef Lateef (1988) and Yusef Lateef's Encounters (the latter 1991 album stars a young Nnenna Freelon).