Behind the Blue Curtain
Filed Under Kitchen Curtain | Posted on June 4, 2008
Saxophonist Oliver Lake is the opposite of a purist. Since his youth, as a founding member of St. Louis-based Black Artists Group, he has savored his involvement in a variety of the arts poetry, visual arts, dance and of course music.
Plus he runs a small record label, performs, and frequently records with an eclectic array of collaborators everyone, it seems, from Bjork to Me’shell Ndegeocello.
The Oliver Lake Trio featuring Mr. Lake on alto saxophone, Michael Gregory Jackson on guitar and drummer Pheeroan Aklaff will launch Blue Curtain concerts in Pettoranello Gardens in Princeton Community Park North June 14. Also appearing will be jazz harpist Edmar Castaneda and his trio. But that’s just the beginning of a summer filled with free live music in one of Princeton’s premiere outdoor venues.
Also on the bill that night will be the Pete Levin Trio. Music lovers might know Mr. Levin from his keyboard work with Paul Simon, Annie Lennox, Peter Gabriel, Miles Davis, David Sanborn and his brother Tony Levin. Princeton-area concert goers might remember the superb Blue Curtain-sponsored concert in the former Quark Park in the autumn of 2006 when the two Levin brothers were joined by synthesizer whiz Larry Fast and veteran drummer Jerry Marotta. Because of their touring experience with Mr. Gabriel and King Crimson, the band pulled out some progressive rock gems that night.
Mr. Lake says his trio’s performance in Princeton will be a kind of reunion, since the ensemble only recently got back together after a two-year hiatus.
â€We formed about 23 years ago but hadn’t been playing together for a while,†he says. “When we did come back, it was like picking up with old friends. We didn’t rehearse, we just got on stage and played, and since then we’ve done about five or six concerts not too many. We’re also developing some new material.â€
In addition to Bjork, Mr. Lake has arranged for rocker Lou Reed and rap group A Tribe Called Quest, and has shared the stage with hip-hop artist Mos Def. He’s collaborated with poets Amiri Baraka and Ntozake Shange, and in fact was working with Ms. Shange when her play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf was a work in progress.
Tags: 23 years, annie lennox, blue curtain, concert goers, course music, curta, curtain, david sanborn, eclectic array, edmar castaneda, hip hop art, keyboard work, lou reed, me shell ndegeocello, michael gregory jackson, mr gabriel, oliver lake trio, outdoor venues, pete levin, princeton area, princeton community, tony levin, venueRelated posts
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