Oliver Lake at Twins Reviewed

A recent Oliver Lake performace gets reviewed.

Lake, dressed elegantly if singularly in a purple shirt and black vest, and the trio began almost on schedule (a rarity at Twins) with Eric Dolphy’s wonderfully angular “Gazzelloni.” Lake and Gold were in playful, almost sloppy communion on the tune, Lake letting loose with fiery melody and Jared Gold doing a weird twist on the Hammond’s churchy soul sound. Gold’s unique blend of sanctified riffs and atonal flights of fancy echoed of free jazz, generally and specifically: his phrases resembled the written bridge in Ornette Coleman’s titular 1960 album. As for Walker, he might have been the most experimental player, intent on exploring the range of colors in his kit (particularly the hi-hat and cymbals); he was also the loudest, but without overwhelming Lake and Gold.