Oliver Lake Quintet - Prophet (1981)

Review by Al Campbell

Following the release of his advanced live trio recording Zaki, alto saxophonist Oliver Lake recorded a relatively straight-ahead date, The Prophet, a tribute to Eric Dolphy. Released on the Black Saint label in 1980, The Prophet combines Lake's (and Dolphy's) ability to blur the line between post-bop and avant-garde jazz on three Dolphy compositions ("Hat and Beard," "Something Sweet, Something Tender," and "Prophet") with three Lake originals. This is not the only tribute to Dolphy that Lake would record; 16 years later he issued Tribute to Dolphy, also on Black Saint, with a different band.