I'm a jazz bassist from Detroit, MI based out of New York City.  I attend Manhattan School of Music and graduate in May.  I'm currently playing with Winard Harper, Enoch Smith Jr., Curtis Taylor, Mike Dease, Ken Fowser, Karen Taylor, Marcus Persiani, Sharel Cassity, Anthony Nelson Jr and many more.

The artistic scope of renowned saxophonist, composer, painter, and poet Oliver Lake’s half-century-long career is unparalleled. An extensive resume of his collaborations includes work with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Flux String Quartet, Bjork, Lou Reed, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Me’shell Ndegeocello, Anthony Braxton, James Blood Ulmer, William Parker, Vijay Iyer, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille and a veritable who’s who of the jazz vanguard. Oliver’s efforts extend far beyond the music, with his creation of the non-profit Passin’ Thru organization, becoming a mainstay at Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum, publishing two books of poetry and frequently producing visual artwork for exhibitions across the country.

Lake’s breadth of disciplines can be traced back to his formative years with the Black Artists Group, the innovative St. Louis collective of musicians, poets, dancers and painters he helped architect over 35 years ago. As a co-founder of the internationally acclaimed World Saxophone Quartet (with fellow luminaries David Murray, Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett), Oliver firmly established himself in the “Loft” jazz scene of the 1970’s in New York City, and has since produced a body of work that is both expansive and versatile enough to avoid falling solely into the trappings of the “avant-garde” and “free” labels. The fact that his work can stand on compositional merit alone, all while he has etched a place for himself as one of the elite saxophone players and improvisers of recent times, is a testament to Oliver Lake’s stature as an artist.

Lake’s output as an exacting and unequivocally original composer has long been celebrated, highlighted by commissions awarded from the Library of Congress, the Rockefeller Foundation ASCAP, the International Association for Jazz Education, Composers Forum and the McKim Foundation. He has been the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship and was also presented with the Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award at the Kennedy Center in 2006.

In 2014, Oliver was honored with what is arguably the greatest recognition of his artistry and vision to date, becoming one of only nineteen grantees appointed for the prestigious Doris Duke Artist Award, a multi-year grant awarded to American artists in the fields of jazz, theater and dance. 

A trailblazer through and through, Oliver Lake continues to produce in the vociferous, uncompromising way he only knows how to, currently immersed in the work of such adventurous ensembles as the Oliver Lake Organ Quartet, Oliver Lake Big Band and Trio 3.

For more informations, visit oliverlake.net & facebook.com/oliverlakejazz



UPDATED BIOGRAPHY OF HIP HOP ARTIST - NAJ

Born on November 13, 19** in the ancient city of Jos in northern Nigeria, Hail from Ibereko badagry in southern Nigeria. Najeem Shuaibu Eruosi AKA Naj Lafamilia has a story to tell. His earlier life was culturally and religiously diverse; Son of a Southern Muslim father and a Christian mother, Life was oftentimes tough, and can even be described as contradictory, yet it is very inspiring. His father joined the army at a young age and eventually became a war hero. His Mother was strongly connected to the local political scene in Lagos, which stirred Naj’s fascination for the subject from a very early age. These factors are solely responsible for his immense contradictions – a strange combination of a Tough, no-nonsense stance passed on by his military father as well as a diplomatic and compromising side from his mother.
Although he was born in the Northern enclave of Jos, his family moved a lot and he spent years between Nigeria’s economic and cosmopolitan city Lagos as well as the very conservative stronghold of the north, Kaduna. This single factor has diverse influences on his social conscience and eventually impacted his music as an artist. 
His musical background is inspired from deep within his roots. Both of his great grandfathers had a strong passion for music and would spend hours teaching him the local art of dancing and singing, This in effect, exposed Naj to the fundamental elements of traditional African Folk music and their multi-lingual influences. Hence, he began to develop a natural talent for distinguishing a wide range of musical tones and patterns, which now plays a major role in his artistic style and enables him to switch between languages during delivery of rap verses. 
Although he was very talented and a hard worker, his family could be considered poor and unable to provide all of the basic needs for a young man to horn his skills. However, his strong desire would not let him fail… Wanting to improve his situation, and having a burning desire to excel, Naj left Nigeria in 2001, on a journey to Kazakhstan to pursue a new life. He enrolled at the prestigious Kazakh-American University where he majored in Computer Technology and a minor in Russian language. While studying, Naj continued to share his musical and performing talents by competing in the various events held in the City of Al-maty. He immediately began to create a name for himself, which led to him being scouted by companies, for both modeling and performance opportunities. 
On August 1st 2002, Naj decided to take the next big leap… He dropped out of the university to pursue his lifelong dream full time. He moved to China where he worked low-income English teaching jobs and modeling gigs to fund his pursuits. This took him across multiple mainland cities, where he spent time exploring the culture, and building a network of industry contacts. While he was in Beijing, He recorded tracks with Gao Xiao Song, one of China’s leading composers at the time, and also Tim Wu, The famous hip hop artist from Shanghai Thamestown.
Naj was truly inspired by his friend long term Wilson (With whom he Co-founded the group Infinity Skillz) in 2004, while they were in Harbin producing a track that ended up being a hit song in the clubs of Harbin, China. To his surprise, the song took off in multiple cities in China, starting with a famous Blues Club in Harbin. Naj experienced the local people’s excitement and positive response to the music he and his friends created, and knew that this is what he wanted to do... He moved to Shanghai in the fall of 2006 and has never looked back since... 
In October 2006, Naj was featured in a Nike commercial, alongside world-renowned track and field athlete Liu Xian, the Track & field legend and Olympic gold medalist in the Athens 2004 Olympics. He also co-founded a hip-hop group called “Infinity Skillz”, The group created a new genre, by blending traditional oriental music, with mainstream hip hop and R&B. They went on to produce songs that became chart-topping hits in the foreign category music on the Mainland (Songs: How many Girlfriends, and Fall in Love). Not only local Chinese radio stations, but also different international web radio portals picked up these hits. The group Infinity Skillz was eventually nominated by the Nigerian Entertainment Awards Association for best “Nigerian Group performing overseas”. 
Returning home to Nigeria in 2008 for a yearlong sabbatical, Naj continued to expand his knowledge and talents within the Nigerian entertainment circle, where he managed various nightclubs in Lagos and also went on to start La Familia records with close friend Sean Omole. 
He is currently working on his solo project, introducing a new style of music to the global party scene. His invention, “HOUSE-POP”, is beginning to create buzz locally in both China and Nigeria. It draws multiple influences from established genres such as House, rock, electronic and Hip-hop. Naj’s first single “Shanghai" has already started to take off in the Chinese Domestic scene especially in Shanghai. 
Not only has Naj created music, he has also branded himself as a nightlife, entertainment and marketing vehicle in Shanghai as he continues to work with several venues hosting parties and enjoying what he does best… Partying like a rockstar!
Stay tuned for the upcoming launch of “HOUSE-POP” 

Current singles are Anfani, Superman, Nigeria and Quiet Man.

Twitter: @naj_lafamilia
Facebook : Naj Lafamilia
YouTube: Najlafamilia 
Instergram: Lafamilianaj

Anthony Ware is following