Talkin' Stick

Last updated
Talkin' Stick
Talkin stick cover.jpeg
Studio album by
Released2000
RecordedMarch 4, 1997
StudioTedesco Studios, Paramus, New Jersey
Genre Jazz
Length73:28
Label Pasin' Thru
Producer Richard Franklin & Oliver Lake
Oliver Lake chronology
Movement, Turns & Switches
(1997)
Talkin' Stick
(2000)
Kinda' Up
(2000)

Talkin' Stick is an album by American jazz saxophonist Oliver Lake, which was recorded in 1997 and released on Lake's own Passin' Thru label. It features a quintet with vibraphonist Jay Hoggard, pianist Geri Allen, bassist Belden Bullock and drummer Cecil Brooks III, playing six Lake's originals, Julius Hemphill's composition "Hard Blues", and the piece "Only If You Live There" by Curtis Clark.

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]

In his review for AllMusic, David Dupont states: "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." [1]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz wrote: "The partnership of alto and vibes will inevitably make some listeners think of Dolphy's Out to Lunch! , and the connection is definitely there. Fortunately, the material is so strong and the group so well suited to the project that the results are high quality." [2]

Track listing

All compositions by Oliver Lake except as indicated
  1. "Talkin' Stick" – 7:17
  2. "Hard Blues" (Julius Hemphill) – 8:50
  3. "Reminds Me" – 7:22
  4. "Massai Moves" – 12:15
  5. "Only If You Live There" (Curtis Clark) – 6:57
  6. "Shifts" – 8:54
  7. "Song for Jay" – 9:07
  8. "Philly Blues" – 12:41

Personnel

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References

  1. 1 2 Dupont, David. Oliver Lake – Talkin' Stick: Review at AllMusic . Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2002). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (6th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 875. ISBN   0140515216.