Oliver Lake
Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) 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.
Also recorded as Oliver Eugene Lake
Oliver Lake

Andy Newcombe Farnborough, UK · P1220243 · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Name
- Oliver Lake
- Born
- 14 September 1942
- Birthplace
- Marianna, Arkansas, U.S.
- Occupation
- Musician
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- jazz
- Education
- Sumner High School · Lincoln University
- Honours
- Guggenheim Fellowship · Doris Duke Performing Artist Award
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Documentary summary
Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) 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.
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Note VALÉORINE
Oliver Lake (born 1942) is an American composer, jazz musician and musician, among other activities. The composer was born in Marianna.
Oliver Lake studied at Lincoln University and Sumner High School. The composer worked for Webster University and is a member of Trio 3 and World Saxophone Quartet.
Genres include jazz. Oliver Lake received Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and Guggenheim Fellowship.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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museum · e58cdacf-c655-4848-a570-7d3f3fb11935 · wikidata · Q711204 · wikipedia · Oliver Lake
In this article
Biography
Biography
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.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Oliver Lake • Born — 14 September 1942 • Birthplace — Marianna, Arkansas, U.S. • Genre — Jazz • Occupation — Musician • Instrument — Saxophone • Years Active — 1971–present • Label — Freedom, Black Saint, Arista Novus, Gramavision, Intakt, Justin Time • Past Member Of — World Saxophone Quartet • Website — www.oliverlake.net • Illustration — Lake at Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay, CA, 3/6/88
As leader or co-leader
As leader or co-leader
• Passing Thru (Africa, 1974) • Heavy Spirits (Arista/Freedom, 1975) • Holding Together (Black Saint, 1976) • Ntu: Point from Which Creation Begins (Arista/Freedom, 1976, recorded 1971) • Buster Bee (Sackville, 1978) • Life Dance of Is (Arista Novus, 1978) • Shine! (Arista Novus, 1979) • Clevont Fitzhubert (Black Saint, 1981) • Prophet (Black Saint, 1981) • Jump Up (Gramavision, 1982) • Plug It (Gramavision, 1983) • Expandable Language (Black Saint, 1985) • Gallery (Gramavision, 1986) • Dancevision (Blue Heron, 1986) • Impala (Gramavision, 1987) • Otherside (Gramavision, 1988) • Again and Again (Gramavision, 1991) • Boston Duets (Music & Arts, 1992) • Virtual Reality (Total Escapism) (Gazell, 1992) • Zaki (hat ART, 1992) • Edge-ing (Black Saint, 1994) • Dedicated to Dolphy (Black Saint, 1996) • Matador of 1st & 1st (Passin' Thru, 1996) • Movement, Turns & Switches (Passin' Thru, 1997) • Kinda' Up (Justin Time, 2000) • Talkin' Stick (Passin' Thru, 2000) • Have Yourself a Merry... (Passin' Thru, 2001) • Cloth (Passin' Thru, 2003) • Dat Love (Passin' Thru, 2004) • Live (Passin' Thru, 2005) • Urban Rumination (Metaphysical, 2005) • Lake/Tchicai/Osgood/Westergaard (Passin' Thru, 2006) • Makin' It (Passin' Thru, 2008) • For a Little Dancin (Intakt, 2010) • Plan (Passin' Thru, 2010) • Lakes at the Stone (Passin' Thru, 2011) • Wheels (Passin' Thru, 2013) • All Decks (Intakt, 2013) • What I Heard (Passin' Thru, 2014) • To Roy (Intakt, 2015) • Live at the Downtown Music Gallery NYC (2016) • Right Up On (Passin' Thru, 2017) • Spirit (SFÄR, 2023) With Trio 3 • Live in Willisau (Dizim, 1997) • Encounter (Passin' Thru, 2000) • Open Ideas (Palmetto, 2002) • Time Being (Intakt, 2006) • Wha's Nine: Live at the Sunset (Marge, 2008) • Berne Concert (Intakt, 2009) • At This Time (Intakt, 2009) • Celebrating Mary Lou Williams–Live at Birdland New York (Intakt, 2011) • Refraction – Breakin' Glass (Intakt, 2013) • Wiring (Intakt, 2014) • Visiting Texture (Intakt, 2017) With the OGJB Quartet (Lake, Graham Haynes, Joe Fonda, Barry Altschul) • Bamako (TUM, 2019) • Ode to O (TUM, 2022)
As sideman
As sideman
With Karl Berger • Live at the Donaueschingen Music Festival (MPS, 1980) • New Moon (Palcoscenico, 1980) With Björk • Debut (One Little Indian, 1993) • Celebrating Wood and Metal (MTV, 1997) • Surrounded (One Little Indian, 2006) With Andrew Cyrille • My Friend Louis (DIW, 1992) • Ode to the Living Tree (Venus, 1995) With Ted Daniel • In the Beginning (Altura Music, 1997) • Innerconnection (NoBusiness, 2014) With Michael Gregory Jackson • Clarity (Bija, 1977) • Karmonic Suite (Improvising Artists 1978) With Meshell Ndegeocello • The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams (Bismillah, 2007) • The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel (Universal/EmArcy, 2005) With Malachi Thompson • Freebop Now! (Delmark, 1998) • Talking Horns (Delmark, 2001) With James Blood Ulmer • Are You Glad to Be in America? (Rough Trade, 1980) • Free Lancing (Columbia, 1981) With World Saxophone Quartet • Point of No Return (Moers Music, 1977) • Steppin' with the World Saxophone Quartet (Black Saint, 1979) • W.S.Q. (Black Saint, 1981) • Revue (Black Saint, 1982) • Live in Zurich (Black Saint, 1984) • Live at Brooklyn Academy of Music (Black Saint, 1986) • Plays Duke Ellington (Elektra Nonesuch, 1986) • Dances and Ballads (Elektra Nonesuch, 1987) • Rhythm and Blues (Elektra Musician, 1989) • Metamorphosis (Elektra Nonesuch, 1991) • Moving Right Along (Black Saint, 1994) • Breath of Life (Elektra Nonesuch, 1994) • Takin' It 2 the Next Level (Justin Time, 1996) • Four Now (Justin Time, 1996) • Selim Sivad: a Tribute to Miles Davis (Justin Time, 1998) • M'Bizo (Justin Time, 1999) • Requiem for Julius (Justin Time, 2000) • 25th Anniversary: The New Chapter (Justin Time, 2001) • Steppenwolf (Justin Time, 2002) • Experience (Justin Time, 2004) • Political Blues (Justin Time, 2006) With others • Pheeroan Aklaff, Global Mantras (ModernMasters, 1998) • Dee Alexander, Songs My Mother Loves (Blujazz, 2014) • Borah Bergman, A New Organization (Soul Note, 1999) • Black Artists Group, In Paris, Aries 1973 (self-issued in 1973; reissued by Aguirre in 2018) • Samuel Blaser, Early in the Morning (Outnote, 2018) • Joseph Bowie, Joseph Bowie & Oliver Lake (Sackville, 1976) • Anthony Braxton, New York, Fall 1974 (Arista, 1975) • Baikida Carroll, Orange Fish Tears (Palm, 1974) • Alex Cline, For People in Sorrow (Cryptogramophone, 2013) • Jerome Cooper, For the People (hat Hut, 1980) • Marilyn Crispell, Circles (Victo, 1991) • Defunkt, Live in Europe (Music Avenue, 2002) • Dave Douglas, Metamorphosis (Greenleaf Music, 2017) • Lisle Ellis, Sucker Punch Requiem: Henceforth (2008) • Laika Fatien, Nebula (Verve, 2011) • Donal Fox, Gone City (New World, 1997) • Dennis Gonzalez, Idle Wild (Clean Feed, 2005) • Ross Hammond, Our Place On the Wheel (Prescott, 2020) • Craig Harris, Souls Within the Veil (Aquastra Music, 2005) • Billy Hart, Enchance (Horizon, 1977) • Julius Hemphill, One Atmosphere (Tzadik, 2003) • Human Arts Ensemble, Whisper of Dharma (Universal Justice, 1972) • Bill Laswell, Bill Laswell & Material (Golden Stars, 2005) • Abbey Lincoln, Who Used to Dance (Verve/Gitanes, 1997) • Mark Masters, Farewell Walter Dewey Redman (Capri, 2008) • Material, One Down (Elektra/Celluloid, 1982) • Mediaeval Baebes, Undrentide (BMG, 2000) • Tatsuya Nakamura, Song of Pat (Nadja, 1976) • Lou Reed, Set the Twilight Reeling (Warner Bros., 1995) • Archie Shepp, Phat Jam in Milano (Dawn of Freedom 2009) • Solidarity Unit, Inc., Red, Black & Green (Universal Justice Records, 1972; Eremite, 2008) • Bernadette Speach, Without Borders (Mode, 1988) • String Trio of New York, Frozen Ropes (Barking Hoop, 2005) • Sunny Murray, Apple Cores (Philly Jazz, 1978) • Trio Transition, Trio Transition with Special Guest Oliver Lake (DIW, 1988) • Bennie Wallace, The Art of the Saxophone (Denon, 1987) • Reggie Workman, Synthesis (Leo, 1986)
Identity
Identity
Oliver Lake is recorded with the occupation recording artist. Recorded with the occupation jazz musician. Classed in the genre jazz. Recorded as having received Guggenheim Fellowship and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1942
Oliver Lake was born on 14 September 1942.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Oliver Lake was born at Marianna.
Birthplace
Marianna.
Birth place
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Lake, (Oliver) Gene(, Jr.) (jazz), Oxford Music Online, 2003
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2003
- Lake, Oliver (jazz), Oxford Music Online, 2003
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2003
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q711204: Oliver Lake
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Oliver Lake”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Oliver Lake
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
Awards and honors
• Guggenheim Fellowship (1993) • Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award (2006) • Doris Duke Performing Artist Award (2014)
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Colin Larkin. The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz. Guinness Publishing. 251. 1992. 0-85112-580-8.
- 2.Kelsey, Chris. Oliver Lake | Biography & History. AllMusic.
- 3."The State of Jazz: Meet 40 More Jersey Greats", The Star-Ledger, September 28, 2003, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 27, 2008. Accessed September 15, 2017. "Oliver Lake -- Lake, a longtime resident of Montclair, is a formidable alto saxophonist and composer of the jazz avant-garde."
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Lake, (Oliver) Gene(, Jr.) (jazz), Oxford Music Online, 2003Crossref registry
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Lake, Oliver (jazz), Oxford Music Online, 2003Crossref registry
Institutional witnessInstitutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for Oliver LakeMetaBrainz Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Studied at
1- Lincoln UniversityOrganisation
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Career and activity. He was employed by Webster University.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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