The interviews for Spotlight are conducted by Ken Gallo, who writes/edits Meet The Composer's newsletter, MTC NOTES.

Oliver Lake Photo: Drukker ©2000

Oliver Lake

Listen: Fanfare Bop (RealAudio)

With recently released CDs by his Steel Quartet (Kinda'Up) and the World Saxophone Quartet (Requiem for Julius), both on the Canadian Justin Time label, Mr. Lake cements his position - established more than twenty years ago with his WSQ counterparts -- as a leader in the avant jazz movement.

As a soloist, particularly on alto saxophone, Mr. Lake is a contemporary Eric Dolphy, possessing a sharp bluesy tone, fluid improvising skills, and a flair for the unpredictable. His compositions for string quartet, steel quartet, big band, and various ensembles have been commissioned and performed by the likes of the The Arditti String Quartet, The World Saxophone Quartet, Amherst Saxophone Quartet, Regina Carter, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, The Wheeling Symphony, The San Francisco Contemporary Players, The New York New Music Ensemble, and Pulse Percussion Ensemble of New York. He has also performed and arranged for such diverse artists as Björk, Lou Reed, Abbey Lincoln and A Tribe Called Quest. One of his more recent endeavors is his record label, Passin' Thru, which he co-founded and now serves as Artistic Director.

Mr. Lake recently received a Meet The Composer New Residencies, which will help support an extensive community outreach program in his home state of New Jersey.

Mr. Lake talked with us about -- among other topics -- composing and collaborating, Passin' Thru, his involvement with Meet The Composer, and his hometown of Montclair, NJ.

MTC: Early on in your career did you find that you were pigeonholed as a jazz instrumentalist, when you were actually much more than that?
OL: That's probably true but I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about that because I realize how labels work. Critics have to put you in a box in order to deal with you…that makes it easier for them but I refuse to go in there because I like to do a lot of different things and I have continued to do a lot of different things throughout my career. I think the fault of having a career like mine is the fact that you know…I don't feel like I've spread myself very thin but the fact that I do a lot of different things presents a problem in some kinds of ways for fans and maybe critics and so forth.
MTC: You've composed for big band, string quartet, steel quartet and various other projects. Do you feel there is an ideal voice for you as a composer?
OL: I think it's just a big picture for me…just composing period and getting excitement from going to various combinations of instruments…whether its with larger groups or smaller groups you know…or even the sonorities of the string quartet as well as the steel drum and the saxophone has a certain timbre about it that's really exciting to me. Writing for that has been a lot of fun. I think it's just a full picture of composing period.
MTC: In the 80s you led the reggae like group JUMP UP, and now your new group incorporates steel drums. Did the influence of Caribbean music inspire you to start the Steel Quartet?
OL: I think so. It's still part of that same kind of thinking…but with this particular group…it's similar to what I did with JUMP UP but this one is different in that a lot of the music is very groove oriented but also I'm including a lot more jazz in this group than I did with JUMP UP. I'm kind of broadening this particular band out a little bit more.
MTC: The new WSQ record, Requiem for Julius, is an obvious tribute to your late friend and WSQ co-founder Julius Hemphill. What can we expect from it?
OL: Well, actually all of us have composed pieces on there dedicated to Julius' memory…he was such a great composer and friend…I think a lot of it is very contemplative. There are a couple of happy pieces on there but most them of kind of ballad-y. It's kind of a ballad-y sounding CD to me…but I think its one of our better works.
MTC: Over the years the members of WSQ have been involved in inspiring collaborative projects out of the group -- your various aforementioned projects, Hamiet Bluiett's Baritone Group, David Murray's Grateful Dead tribute - what do you bring back to WSQ after a collaboration outside of the quartet?
OL: I think we bring the same thing that we always bring…which has always been our musical experiences and our life experiences to the group. We've been together almost 25 years now...we're bringing all of that everytime we come together. I mean it's just all one thing…it's not like David doing the Grateful Dead or me doing something with Bjork or Bluiett doing the Baritone Group. We're bringing all of our experiences into the group, throughout the years we've been in existence.
MTC: You've been involved in so many different artistic collaborations like dance, hip hop, the thing with Bjork, and your own theater piece MATADOR OF 1ST AND 1ST, how do you approach the collaborative process?
OL: Each time I find it quite different but generally I try to keep a very open mind and try to see how the collaboration is gonna work…believe me every collaboration I've done has been totally different…it has never worked by any kind of formula…it's about personality I think...you know?…If the personalities can get along…if you can come up with something creative then you're over the hump (laughs). The times that I've had difficulties in collaborations has been when the personalities clashed…and then it wasn't artistic…it was just some other stuff going on…that hasn't happened a lot. The majority of the time I think I've been very fortunate to have very successful collaborations where everybody got along and we were able to come up with a great collaborative work. Primarily, it's just trying to make sure that everybody is complete… that everybody gets to use their experiences to make that collaboration a success.
MTC: How did Passin' Thru start?
OL: With me…and I have a partner, Richard Franklin, between the two of us that's our label. I started it a long time ago about 20 years ago…I only did about three CDs…albums at that time…and then about five years ago I re-started it with Richard when we released.. I think in 1996…one of my mentors, a saxophone player from St Louis - Freddy Washington. Jr., tenor saxophone player - local player there who will probably never leave St Louis, but a tremendous tenor saxophonist…that's how it re-started…with a solo of mine and a quartet featuring Freddy Washington, Jr.
MTC: What's upcoming for the label?
OL: This year we have scheduled four CDs for release. The first one being the first CD by my son, Gene Lake, who is a drummer…he plays with David Sanborn….he plays with Me'shell Ndege'ocello... we're releasing his first solo project which will come out probably in the spring. I have a quintet piece featuring Geri Allen that's going to come out also in the spring. Trio Three - Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille and myself - we have a group…we're going to have a CD come out on Passin' Thru …that's going to come out probably in the summer. There's one by Jay Hoggard, who's also featured on my quintet - the one I mentioned with Geri Allen - he has a quartet…that we're going to release. As an independent record label that's quite ambitious…to be looking to release four CDs this year…that's quite a lot. We didn't release any in '99 but we're looking to release four in 2000.
MTC: You've received several MTC Commissioning grants in the last ten years.
OL: I've got a lot of support from Meet The Composer and I feel very fortunate for that.
MTC: How does getting a grant help you along in the composing/creative process?
OL: Well, actually it makes me more selective in some of the gigs that I take… things that would take me on the road and so forth. I love composing…so it affords me the time to compose and not run around on the road doing gigs maybe that I wouldn't … or that may not be as lucrative…or not having the luxury of staying home with my family and writing music … doing something that I love. From that perspective it's incredible. Again, I'm going to keep saying through this whole interview…I feel very fortunate to be able to do it.
MTC: Your upcoming MTC New Residencies will take place in the community where you reside (Montclair, NJ) What's the attraction of the community for you and other musicians?
OL: I've been here ten years. In the ten years that I've been here there have been a lot of musicians that have moved here. The fact that a lot of musicians starting moving here and felt that it was a great community…felt that it was a great school system for smaller kids. Some of us did have smaller kids at that time… a lot of the press that Montclair has been getting in terms of it being cosmopolitan and a very artistic community …there are a lot of visual artists that live here. There are several independent theater groups…you don't really have to go to the city for culture in terms of high quality things happening…a jazz club just reopened…Trumpet's jazz club just reopened about three months ago and I played there a couple of weeks ago. There are a lot of things going on here…now through Meet The Composer…going 15 minutes down the road to Bloomfield College (NJ) which is a small college but very forward thinking and moving very aggressively in bringing artists into the schools. They just started a music degree program about a year ago…so it's an exciting area.
MTC: The Residency involves many different aspects of education. What sort of ideas do you try to instill in your students?
OL: For me, I'm a person who likes - in terms of young kids or college kids - for them to look at choices. A lot of times it's a very simple thing but a lot of times kids aren't aware of it…a lot of adults aren't aware of the choices that you make and what consequences this takes in your life. I think music or any creative art gives you that opportunity and hopefully that's what I will impart by being there. Kids are kind of programmed to look at a 9 to 5 situation…but they can look at artists and say "oh, here's another alternative, I can make this choice, this is what I really want to do." Hopefully, I'll have some kind of influence from that perspective.