By James Hale | Published August 2022
A tart, incisive voice on alto saxophone — whose extensive recording catalog includes appearances with Björk and Lou Reed, as well as some of wooliest free improvisation released in the past 45 years — Oliver Lake has never been reluctant to step outside what some may perceive as his wheelhouse.
Spoken word and other types of vocalization are forms of expression that have remained deep in Lake’s arsenal until his recent appearance with bassist Reggie Washington and DJ Grazzhoppa on Black Lives: From Generation To Generation, an album of contemporary protest music co-curated by Washington. Now, Lake has teamed with Philadelphia’s Sonic Liberation Front, led by percussionist Kevin Diehl, to realize a goal of creating an album of his vocal works.
Featuring a quartet of singers (Lake recites two poems, as well) in close harmony, Justice sometimes echoes the type of rhythmic bounce captured in Lake’s compositions for the World Saxophone Quartet. Although the choral voicings and Veronica Jurkiewicz’s charged violin sound focused and precise, rough edges abound elsewhere. The bass and drums on “Dedication” sound especially tentative, and the multifaceted “Clouds” lacks integration to the point where it seems more like a pastiche than a fully realized arrangement. A more grating issue is the sound mix, which favors the vocalists and Elliot Levin’s tenor saxophone. Like many projects realized during the COVID lockdowns, Justice was performed and recorded remotely, lending it a “field recording” feel.
Justice: The Vocal Works Of Oliver Lake: The Vocal Works Of Oliver Lake: What; Ain’t Nothin’ Real But Love; Aztec; Justice; Clouds; Dedicated; Round 2000; Lucky One. (40:30)
Personnel: Jameka Gordon, flute; Elliot Levin, tenor saxophone; Veronica Jurkiewicz, violin; Oliver Lake, Shanon Chua, Chaela Harris, Ravi Seenarine, Michael Ford, vocals; Matt Engle, bass; Kevobatala (Kevin Diehl), drums, percussion.
Ordering Info: sonicliberationfront.com
