OL
The basics
Quick facts
Intro
American musician
Gender:
Male
Places:
Work field:
Birth:
14 September 1942(Marianna)
The details
Biography
Introduction
Oliver Lake (born Marianna, Arkansas, September 14, 1942) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, and poet. He is known mainly for alto saxophone but he also performs on soprano and flute.
During the 1960s Lake worked with the Black Artists Group in St. Louis. In 1977 he co-founded the World Saxophone Quartet with David Murray, Julius Hemphill, and Hamiet Bluiett. He has worked in the group Trio 3 with Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille.
Awards and honors
- Guggenheim Fellowship (1993)
- Melon Jazz Living Legacy Award (2006)
Discography
As leader
- 1971: Ntu: Point from Which Creation Begins (Freedom)
- 1974: Passin' Thru (Passin' Thru)
- 1975: Heavy Spirits (Freedom)
- 1976: Holding Together (Black Saint)
- 1978: Shine (Arista Novus)
- 1978: Life Dance of Is (Arista Novus)
- 1978: Buster Bee (Sackville)
- 1979: Zaki (Hat Art)
- 1980: Prophet (Black Saint)
- 1981: Jump Up (Gramavision)
- 1981: Clevont Fitzhubert (Black Saint)
- 1982: Plug It (Gramavision)
- 1984: Expandable Language (Black Saint)
- 1986: Gallery (Gramavision)
- 1986: Dancevision (Blue Heron)
- 1987: Impala (Gramavision)
- 1989: Otherside (Gramavision)
- 1991: Again and Again (Gramavision)
- 1992: Boston Duets (Music & Arts)
- 1992: Virtual Reality (Total Escapism) (Gazell)
- 1994: Edge-ing (Black Saint)
- 1996: Dedicated to Dolphy (Black Saint)
- 1996: Matador of 1st & 1st (Passin' Thru)
- 1996: Movements, Turns & Switches (Passin' Thru)
- 2000: Talkin' Stick (Passin' Thru)
- 2000: Kinda' Up (Passin' Thru)
- 2001: Have Yourself A Merry (Passin' Thru)
- 2003: Cloth (Passin' Thru)
- 2004: Dat Love (Passin' Thru)
- 2005: Oliver Lake Quartet Live (Passin' Thru)
- 2006: Lake/Tchicai/Osgood/Westergaard (Passin' Thru)
- 2008: Makin' It (Passin' Thru)
- 2010: Plan (Passin' Thru)
- 2011: For a Little Dancin' (Intakt)
- 2013: Wheels (Passin' Thru)
- 2013: All Decks (Intakt)
- 2015: To Roy (Intakt)
With Trio 3
- Live in Willisau (Dizim, 1997)
- Encounter (Passin' Thru, 2000)
- Open Ideas (Palmetto, 2002)
- Time Being (Intakt, 2006)
- Live at the Sunset (Marge, 2008)
- At this Time (Intakt, 2009) with Geri Allen
- Berne Concert (Intakt, 2009) with Irene Schweizer
- Celebrating Mary Lou Williams (Intakt, 2010) with Geri Allen
- Refraction – Breaking Glass (Intakt, 2013) with Jason Moran
- Wiring (Intakt, 2014) with Vijay Iyer
With World Saxophone Quartet
| Title | Year | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point of No Return | 1977 | Moers | ||
| Steppin' with the World Saxophone Quartet | 1979 | Black Saint | ||
| W.S.Q. | 1981 | Black Saint | ||
| Revue | 1982 | Black Saint | ||
| Live in Zurich | 1984 | Black Saint | ||
| Live at Brooklyn Academy of Music | 1986 | Black Saint | ||
| Plays Duke Ellington | 1986 | Elektra / Nonesuch | ||
| Dances and Ballads | 1987 | Elektra / Nonesuch | ||
| Rhythm and Blues | 1989 | Elektra / Nonesuch | ||
| Metamorphosis | 1991 | Elektra / Nonesuch | ||
| Moving Right Along | 1993 | Black Saint | ||
| Breath of Life | 1994 | Elektra / Nonesuch | ||
| Four Now | 1996 | Justin Time | ||
| Takin' It 2 the Next Level | 1996 | Justin Time | ||
| Selim Sivad: a Tribute to Miles Davis | 1998 | Justin Time | ||
| Requiem for Julius | 2000 | Justin Time | ||
| 25th Anniversary: The New Chapter | 2001 | Justin Time | ||
| Steppenwolf | 2002 | Justin Time | ||
| Experience | 2004 | Justin Time | ||
| Political Blues | 2006 | Justin Time |
As sideman
With Anthony Braxton
- New York, Fall 1974 (Arista, 1974)
With Alex Cline
- For People in Sorrow (Cryptogramophone, 2013)
With Billy Hart
- Enchance (Horizon, 1977)
With Michael Gregory Jackson
- Karmonic Suite (Improvising Artists, 1978)
With Wadada Leo Smith
- Song of Humanity (Kabell, 1977) also released on Kabell Years: 1971-1979 (Tzadik, 2004)
With James Blood Ulmer
- Are You Glad to Be in America? (Artists House, 1980)