Talkin' Stick puts the versatile
Oliver Lake into what could pass for a conventional hard bop quintet. However, with
Lake's full-throated alto as the primary voice, there's little that's business-as-usual about this date. The session explores some in-the-pocket grooves mostly by the leader, with a couple felicitous contributions by
Julius Hemphill ("Hard Blues") and
Curtis Clark ("Only if You Live There").
Clark's piece is a real ear-catcher, with a playful, toy piano-like quality that
Lake abstracts and broadens in a typically ferocious solo.
Lake's own compositions include the opening waltz and the African-flavored "Masaai Moves," which gets a more extended reading than on
Lake's string project recording, "Movement, Turns & Switches." Underneath, drummer
Cecil Brooks III and Belden Bullock,
Lake's regular bassist, maintain the groove.
Geri Allen and vibraharpist
Jay Hoggard provide trenchant, complementary solos. The session goes to prove that regardless of the setting,
Lake's sound remains among the most distinctive in jazz. ~ David Dupont