Dat Love (Passin’ Thru) by the Oliver Lake Steel Quartet teams the alto and soprano saxophonist with steel-pan ace Lyndon Achee. Achee is no dabbler: he plays with excellent jazz feel and a fresh imagination. Modern jazz standards like Oliver Nelson’s “Stolen Moments” and Horace Silver’s “Senor Blues” contrast nicely with the leader’s own Grover Washington-esque “Double Space” and the Stevie Wonder/Mary J. Blige funkster “Time.” Electric bassist Reggie Washington and drummer Damon Duewhite are there to set grooves and not much more. Lake does his inside-outside best with the material, yet he never really cuts loose, either. On the other hand, this music is mostly about feel. On that count it surely works.
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