Oliver Lake


Oliver Lake is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black Artists Group in St. Louis. In 1977, he founded the World Saxophone Quartet with David Murray, Julius Hemphill, and Hamiet Bluiett. Lake worked in the group Trio 3 with Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille. Lake has appeared on more than 80 albums as a bandleader, co-leader, and side musician. He is the father of drummer Gene Lake. Lake has been a resident of Montclair, New Jersey.

Awards and honors

As leader or co-leader

  • Heavy Spirits
  • Passing Thru
  • Holding Together
  • Ntu: Point from Which Creation Begins
  • Buster Bee
  • Life Dance of Is
  • Shine!
  • Clevont Fitzhubert
  • Prophet
  • Jump Up
  • Plug It
  • Expandable Language
  • Gallery
  • Dancevision
  • Impala
  • Otherside
  • Again and Again
  • Boston Duets
  • Virtual Reality
  • Zaki
  • Edge-ing
  • Dedicated to Dolphy
  • Matador of 1st & 1st
  • Movement, Turns & Switches
  • Kinda' Up
  • Talkin' Stick
  • Have Yourself a Merry...
  • Cloth
  • Dat Love
  • Live
  • Urban Rumination
  • Lake/Tchicai/Osgood/Westergaard
  • Makin' It
  • For a Little Dancin
  • Plan
  • Lakes at the Stone
  • Wheels
  • All Decks
  • What I Heard
  • To Roy
  • Live at the Downtown Music Gallery NYC
  • Right Up On
  • Spirit
With Trio 3
  • Live in Willisau
  • Encounter
  • Open Ideas
  • Time Being
  • Wha's Nine: Live at the Sunset
  • Berne Concert
  • At This Time
  • Celebrating Mary Lou Williams–Live at Birdland New York
  • Refraction – Breakin' Glass
  • Wiring
  • Visiting Texture
With the OGJB Quartet
  • Bamako
  • ''Ode to O''

    As sideman

With Karl Berger
  • Live at the Donaueschingen Music Festival
  • New Moon
With Björk
  • Debut
  • Celebrating Wood and Metal
  • Surrounded
With Andrew Cyrille
  • My Friend Louis
  • Ode to the Living Tree
With Ted Daniel
  • In the Beginning
  • Innerconnection
With Michael Gregory Jackson
  • Clarity
  • Karmonic Suite
With Meshell Ndegeocello
With Malachi Thompson
  • Freebop Now!
  • Talking Horns
With James Blood Ulmer
  • Are You Glad to Be in America?
  • Free Lancing
With World Saxophone Quartet
  • Point of No Return
  • Steppin' with the World Saxophone Quartet
  • W.S.Q.
  • Revue
  • Live in Zurich
  • Live at Brooklyn Academy of Music
  • Plays Duke Ellington
  • Dances and Ballads
  • Rhythm and Blues
  • Metamorphosis
  • Moving Right Along
  • Breath of Life
  • Takin' It 2 the Next Level
  • Four Now
  • Selim Sivad: a Tribute to Miles Davis
  • M'Bizo
  • Requiem for Julius
  • 25th Anniversary: The New Chapter
  • Steppenwolf
  • Experience
  • Political Blues
With others