Trio 3

Legendary alto saxophonist Oliver Lake, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Andrew Cyrille are Trio 3.

Comprising Andrew Cyrille on drums, Reggie Workman on bass, and Oliver Lake on saxophones, the members of Trio 3 have individually performed with such giants of modern music as John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Art Blakey, the World Saxophone Quartet, and Lou Reed. Together the band navigates from collective improvisation to structured composition (including works by such under-exposed masters John Carter and Bobby Bradford), all with the utmost sympathy and understanding of the moment. As critic Garry Giddins has noted, “the Trio 3 experience involves the assimilation of every kind of jazz, from pre-bop mainstream to the furthest reaches of the avant-garde to sundry precincts on the world music front.” The trio’s unique personalities and musical perspectives form an ensemble where the spirit of the music is the only leader.

Oliver Lake is a renaissance man. Whether composing major commissioned works for the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra and the Brooklyn Philharmonic; creating chamber pieces for the Arditti and Flux String Quartets, the Amherst Sax Quartet or the San Francisco Contemporary Players; arranging for pop diva Bjork, rocker Lou Reed and rap group A Tribe Called Quest; collaborating with poets Amiri Baraka and Ntozake Shange, choreographers Ron Brown and Marlies Yearby, Native American vocalist Mary Redhouse, Korean kumongo player Jin Hi Kim, and Chinese bamboo flute player Shuni Tsou; collaborating with playwright and actor Anna Devere Smith; sharing the stage with hip-hop artist Mos Def; or leading his own Steel Quartet, the World Saxophone Quartet, or Trio 3. Few artists could embrace such a diverse array of musical styles and disciplines. Lake is not only able to thrive in all of these environments, but does so without distorting or diluting his own remarkable artistic identity.

Born in Marianna, Arkansas in 1942, Oliver moved to St. Louis at the age of two. Lake moved to New York in the mid-'70s, working in fertile creative ground of the downtown loft scene and quickly establishing himself as one of its most adventurous and multi-faceted artists. A co-founder of the internationally acclaimed World Saxophone Quartet with Julius Hemphill, Hamiet Bluiett and David Murray in 1977, Oliver has continued to work with the WSQ and his own groups over the years; he’s performed throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Africa and Australia. Currently, in addition to performing and touring with Steel Quartet, Big Band, the WSQ and Trio 3, Oliver continues to collaborate with Mary Redhouse, Anna Devere Smith, Patricia Williams, Craig Harris and various artists in many disciplines. He is currently composing a symphonic piece that draws upon elements from his African, Native American, and European heritage.

Bassist Reggie Workman is recognized for his important work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey. He was a member of jazz groups led by Gigi Gryce, Roy Haynes, Wayne Shorter and Red Garland. In 1961, he joined the John Coltrane Quartet, replacing Steve Davis and was present for the saxophonist's legendary Live at the Village Vanguard sessions, He also appeared with a second bassist (Art Davis) on the 1961 album, Ole Coltrane. Workman has also played with James Moody, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Yusef Lateef, Herbie Mann and Thelonious Monk, among many others over the years. He has recorded with Archie Shepp, Lee Morgan and David Murray. He is currently a professor at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Andrew Cyrille attended the Juilliard and Hartnett Schools of Music. He has performed with jazz artists ranging from Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, and Mary Lou Williams to Kenny Dorham, Muhal Richard Abrams, Horace Tapscott, John Carter, Mal Waldron and David Murray. In 1964 he formed an association with pianist Cecil Taylor that would last for eleven years. From 1971 to 1973 he was an artist-in-residence at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Cyrille also taught at the Graham Windham Home for Children in New York. He is currently a faculty member at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. His sterling work has earned him grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and Meet the Composer, and, in 1999, a Guggenheim Fellowship in composition. Starting in 1969, Cyrille began to organize the first of several percussion groups, including Dialogue of the Drums, Pieces of Time, and Weights and Measures. Some of the distinguished artists who played in these groups were Kenny Clark, Milford Graves, Famoudou Don Moye, Michael Carvin and Obo Addy. Within the past several years, he has been collaborating with musicians Archie Shepp, Roswell Rudd, Dave Douglas, Henry Grimes, William Parker, Dave Burrell, Marilyn Crispell, and Karl Berger. He continues to record and perform in duo, trio, quartet, quintet and big band formations.