Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Oliver Lake: Makin' It

234

Oliver Lake: Makin' It

By

View read count
Oliver Lake: Makin' It
Changing a few elements of a well known musical format may be all that is needed to create a new and fresh sound.

Makin' It, Oliver Lake has taken the old saxophone organ trio popularized in the 1950s by the likes of Ike Quebec and made it into a new vehicle for 21st century improvised music. He has replaced the tenor saxophone—the instrument traditionally associated with this combo—with his alto. Though he remains true to the gospel-inflected and bluesy sound of the older groups, he has injected a hefty dose of free improvisation into the music, pushing the boundaries of the music and flirting with the avant-garde.

Initially influenced by Eric Dolphy, Lake has long developed his unique alto sound, which comes through loud and clear on this CD as his saxophone takes center stage. Supporting him are Jared Gold on Hammond B3 organ, sounding like a modern day Larry Young with a hint of "greasier" sounding organists such as Jack McDuff and Jimmy McGriff, and drummer Jonathan Blake, who maintains the trio's rhythm and provides the cadence for the others' solos like a talented musical timekeeper.

The compositions are primarily by Lake himself with a couple by trumpeter Malachi Thompson and a traditional gospel piece, which closes the program. Despite a bit of repetition in musical themes around the middle of the record, this is a very stimulating session that successfully marries the soul-jazz format of the organ/saxophone/drums trio to freer improvisations and edgy avant-garde styles. Known for genre bending for most of his career, it's not a surprise that Oliver Lake is the musician who brings such a rewarding and exciting album.

Track Listing

In Walked John; Gano; Say Girl; Spirit Of Man; Nu Peace; Move Groove; Makin' It; Dedicated To B.C.; Olla's Blues; I Want To Walk With Jesus.

Personnel

Oliver Lake
saxophone

Oliver Lake: alto saxophone; Jared Gold: Hammond B3 organ; Johnathan Blake: drums.

Album information

Title: Makin' It | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Passin' Thru Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.