From Roulette:
Saxophonist, composer, and visual artist Oliver Lake is a living treasure whose broad musical output in jazz, free improv, and new music captures a relentless artist of active imagination, fiery passion, and virtuosic musical abilities. Lake was a important figure in the Black Artist Group (BAG), an influential arts collective that arose in St. Louis in the late 60s, which fostered the multidisciplinary practices of emerging black artists in free jazz/improv, poetry, visual arts, and dance. Upon his relocation to New York in the mid 70s, Lake started his deep immersion in the nexus of free jazz and improvisation and has collaborated with the likes of Anthony Braxton, James “Blood” Ulmer, and with David Murray, Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett in the World Saxophone Quartet. A 1993 Guggenheim Fellowship recipient for composition, Lake discusses the collection of string-based compositions that he will be presenting at his upcoming concert at Roulette, and reflects on an extraordinary career.
Avant Music News 