As you probably already know, Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest passed away yesterday. There have been many tributes and quotes from his peers and even from unexpected sources over the last couple of days. With his album Velvet Portraits due next week, Terrace Martin has now contributed a low-key tribute to ATCQ in light of Phife’s death entitled “Tribe Called West.”

The LA saxophonist/composer/producer lays some peanut butter-smooth riffs and flourishes with the help of trumpeter Keyon Harrold to pay homage to a group that was a big inspiration. Martin had this to say to The Fader about ATCQ:

Thank you for letting me know it’s okay to be different. Thank you for turning me on to jazz music, because without A Tribe Called Quest there would not be a Terrace Martin. I wouldn’t even be a musician because ATCQ is what made me want to play the saxophone.

Listen.

Velvet Portraits is out 4/1 on Sounds of Crenshaw/Ropeadope. Pre-order it here.