js Oliver Lake was an early participant in the St Louis avant-garde scene, and later a major figure in the NYC loft scene of the early 70s. By the time the late 70s rolled around, he like so many others in the free jazz movement, were starting to diversify their sound as free jazz was becoming a bit predictable. This leads us to the album, “Life Dance of Is”, a mostly avant-garde collection with a good dose of free jazz, but also some other interesting eclecticisms. It’s a very talented band that Oliver assembled here, many of these musicians he had worked with before and would continue to perform with in the future. We have Michael Gregory Jackson on guitar, Anthony Davis on piano, Pheeroan ak Laff on drums and some tracks include Leonard Jones on bass.

The album opens with the sparse sounds of “Rite-Ing” in which various band members play composed snatches of melody in between long moments of silence. Follow up track “Comous” is a little more in the free jazz tradition, but implied beats give this one a funhouse rowdy nature, like a hard bop jam gone insane. Side one closes out with “Shu-Ful” another fun one that has the band playing to a punky two beat shuffle and laying down wacky solos. Oliver seems to be channeling Eric Dolphy on this one.

Side two opens with “Tfon” and an impossibly difficult ensemble bebop line before the group lays into some free improv. Towards the end, Anthony Davis plays what sounds like a closing phrase but then keeps repeating it as the others join in hammering this phrase to death. “Change One” is a one chord reggae vamp with some weird vocals from Lake and bluesy country harmonica from Jackson. The album closes with a spoken word collage that would sound right at home in a modern concert hall setting. Interesting album, sometimes dry and intellectual, and at other times boisterous and funny. This may not have ever been re-issued on CD or in any other format, so look for it where used vinyl is sold.

kev rowland

Oliver Lake is showing no signs at all of slowing down, even though he released his debut album as long ago as 1974, and continues to play and record with a variety of ground-breaking jazz groups. He has been working with the Flux quartet since 2002, and this album is their first collaboration together. Somewhat unusually, this isn’t a collaboration in the sense one would normally expect, but instead features The Flux Quartet performing seven of Oliver’s compositions for string quartet, and he only joins them on alto sax for three of these.

The result is something that is grounded in jazz, but with real avant-garde and classical stylings. This is as abrasive as it is compelling, and while never easy to listen to has a depth and breaking soul that cries out to be heard. I have never heard strings played as harshly as this, the beguiling sound one normally expects is nowhere to be heard, and instead we have music that wouldn’t be out of place on a kitsch Seventies Italian horror noir. This certainly isn’t music for the fainthearted, yet for those who are brave enough to keep turning this up there is a very special world indeed to be discovered. To my poor old jaded ears this is fresh, invigorating, compelling and immediate. From the first note to the very last I was intrigued and excited, as these musicians combine to create something incredibly significant.

snobb Sax player Oliver Lake and bassist William Parker are two of a few still active 70s New York lofts' jazz musicians,true living legends. Here on "To Roy" (album dedicated to trumpeter Roy Campbell,passed away in 2014)them two are recorded together in studio for the first time ever. Even if drumless/pianoless duo isn't a conventional format,music presented is really full-bodied and quite accessible.

Both Lake and Parker represent same former lofters wing - their music has been always well structured,post-bop rooted with great balance between composed and improvised.Here on "To Roy" even quite minimalist acoustic bass/sax duo surprisingly offers lot of melodies and memorable tunes. From very first sounds one can hear that characteristic Lake soulful sax soloing and memorable Parker's vertical bass constructions.

As on many other both musicians' most successful recordings main secret is same on this album - they never let listener to stay bored even for a moment. On a composition which flows like well-cooked song with memorable tune right when one doesn't expect any surprises they add free solo,often quite explosive. What starts as free form improvisation still before you will start loosing your attention switches to beautiful sentimental melody with almost straight rhythm. Eleven members originals take 50 minutes - again not too much to become annoying. Nothing strange though - both Lake and Parker are known as masters of making even quirkiest improvisational music attractive.

Not the album for newcomers - better start form every artist's album where they play with larger band, but really great release for those who already know and love their music.

js Some of the most creative jazz music going down these days is coming from musician/composers working with large ensembles and Olive Lake’s recent “Wheels” for big band is no exception. Although this isn’t Lake’s first album for big band, it’s the first one I’ve been able to hear and I was immediately struck with what a unique composer and arranger he is. I’ve read other reviews of this album and people mention Ellington and other known band leaders and certainly Ellington’s tone colors are here, especially as handed down from his followers such as Mingus, Sun Ra and Henry Threadgill, but there is something entirely different going on with Lake’s approach. From Ellington to the present, big band arrangers tend to use rhythmic riffs scored for a certain section of the band that interact with riffs from other sections and so on. You get some of that on “Wheels”, but much of Oliver’s arrangements use stoic blocks of sounds moving in slow sequences, rather than the expected swingin riffs. Even the melodic material on here often consists of masses of tones stacked in thick chords that move deliberately together, and its this minimal and almost stark approach that makes “Wheels” such an intriguing and unique listen, as well as a real ground breaker when it comes to a modern take on big band arranging.

The arrangements on here are surprising and unique, but the real stars are the soloists, particularly Lake and fellow saxophonists Darius Jones and Jason Marshall. The solo style on “Wheels” is very intense and expressive with sonic flights into the upper realms of the avant-garde. Some soloists go it alone, while there are also plenty of sections for free group interplay, including a couple sections where the whole orchestra goes off at once as in the freedom heyday of the late 60s. On many tunes, Lake’s arranged blunt tone colors for the band are not much more than a brief outline so that the improvisers can have as much freedom as possible.

As mentioned earlier, much of the arrangements on here are very sparse and aescetic and more similar to an avant-garde concert hall 3rd stream type creation, but there are couple tunes that get on the more funky side of things. “Philly Blues” is your Monk flavored slightly off-kilter hard bop jam and “The Whole World” is an Outkast cover that sounds like the sort of exaggerated circus like tune favored by guys like Mingus or Henry Threadgill. The middle section of the “Wheels Suite” presents a ballad like tune, but it too sounds strangely reduced to its barest elements.

It took me a little while to get used to Lake’s approach on “Wheels”, but the more I listen, the more I’m interested. This is top notch current jazz that often borders on the avant-garde, but is always handled with a modern sophistication and cool. Possibly “Wheels” is the missing link in an unlikely connection between Ellington’s smooth elegance and Xennakis’ blunt constructions.

js “NTU: Point from which Creation Begins” was Oliver Lake’s first album and found him mining similar territory that a lot of other young new jazz stars were digging at this time. Equal parts; post bop, fusion, free jazz and psychedelic hippie jam, Lake fit right in with a crowd that included Pharoh Sanders, Donald Byrd and Herbie’s Sextet and its many spin off groups as well. The album opens with “Africa”, an excellent psychedelic groove number that will have many thinking classic Pharoh Sanders. The follow up, “Tse Lane”, is a post bop number that suffers from a slightly out of tune acoustic piano and playing that sounds distracted after the focus of the first number. The band doesn’t really come together on this one.

Side two opens with “Electric Freedom Colors”, after a lengthy Chicago style pointillist noise section (Joeseph Bowie, Don Moye and other AACM types have a strong presence here), the band hit’s a slow groove and guitar phenom Richard Martin takes over. Martin uses a non-distorted natural jazz tone sound, but also adds variable reverb depth for a slight psychedelic touch and just rips on some of the most fierce outside lines this side of Sonny Sharrock and Pete Cosey. The following “Eiree” is quiet and abstract, yet tense as the band interjects sounds that point to what’s to come. On the album closer, “Zip”, the band goes for the classic avant-garde jugular with an all-out free blowing session and keeps things interesting by passing around the solos before the whole band joins in for the final onslaught.

Another great album from that classic early 70s era when so many young musicians were taking in everything from Coltrane to Hendrix, and Stockhausen too.