Das Trio Generations traf sich erstmals mit Oliver Lake für ein Konzert beim Jazzfestival Koktebel auf der Halbinsel Krim im Jahre 2011. Es gab von Anfang an ein harmonisches Verständnis zwischen diesen Musikern, wobei der junge Österreicher ein starkes Bindeglied zwischen Fonda/Stevens einerseits und Oliver Lake andererseits wurde. Das Quartett tourt diesesmal von Wien über limmitationes, Nürnberg nach Brügge. Das Abschlußkonzert in Villach wird aufgezeichnet und auf CD erscheinen.

Oliver Lake is an explosively unpredictable soloist, somewhat akin to Eric Dolphy in the ultra-nimble manner in which he traverses the full range of his main horn, the alto. Lake's astringent saxophone sound is his trademark -- piercing, bluesy, and biting in the manner of a Maceo Parker, it was a perfect lead voice for the World Saxophone Quartet, the band with which Lake has arguably made his most enduring music.
Lake began playing drums as a child in St. Louis. He first picked up the saxophone at the age of 18. Lake received his bachelor's degree in 1968 from Lincoln University. From the late '60s to the early '70s he taught school, played in various contexts around St. Louis, and led -- along with Julius Hemphill and Charles "Bobo" Shaw, among others -- a musicians' collective, the Black Artists' Group (BAG). Lake lived in Paris from 1972-1974, where he worked in a quintet comprised of fellow BAG members. By 1975, he had (along with most of his BAG colleagues) moved to New York, where he became active on what was called by some the "loft jazz" scene. In 1976, with Hemphill, Hamiet Bluiett, and David Murray, he founded the World Saxophone Quartet. Over the next two decades, that band reached a level of popularity perhaps unprecedented by a free jazz ensemble. Its late-'80s albums of Ellington works and R&B tunes attracted an audience that otherwise might never have found its way to such an esoteric style.
Lake continued working as a leader apart from the WSQ, making excellent small-group albums in the '70s and '80s for Arista/Freedom and Black Saint. In the '80s, Lake led a reggae-oriented band, Jump Up, that had a significant degree of pop success, though its artistic appeal faded in comparison with his jazz work. In the '90s, Lake continued to stretch creatively; a duo album with classically trained pianist Donal Fox set him free to explore the more fanciful side of his musical personality. Late-'90s concerts with the WSQ, his own groups, and such duo mates as the hyper-dextrous pianist Borah Bergman showed that Lake was still on top of his game.
The saxophonist continued performing and recording as both a leader and collaborator into the 21st century, forming Trio 3 with bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille (releasing such albums as 2002's Open Ideas on Palmetto and 2008's Berne Concert [in collaboration with pianist Irène Schweizer] and 2009's At This Time [in collaboration with Geri Allen] on Intakt); recording with the String Trio of New York (2005's Frozen Ropes on Barking Hoop); and issuing such recordings as Cloth by the Oliver Lake Big Band in 2003, Oliver Lake Quartet Live (featuring Dine' [Navaho tribe] vocalist and flutist Mary Redhouse) in 2006, and Makin' It by the Oliver Lake Organ Trio in 2008 (the latter three Lake-led sessions released by the Passin' Thru label).

TRIO GENERATIONS: TG ......stands for the clash of generations on the highest imaginable level of musical creativity. It is the reappraisal of fusion and difference regarding the life concepts and styles of the artists as well as their very different, but not contradictory, approaches towards music. The creative resources of the music of tRIo GENERATIONS are defined by the musical concepts of the three musicians on the very basis of their originality and their traditions. The performance is based upon firmly composed music as well as free improvisation.
The tRIO´s audible output is a crisp, fresh, modern sound; indefinable somewhere in-between Jazz, Avantgarde, Funk, Rock, Reggae….. establishing a thrilling tension from the first to the last minute. Trio Generations is a multi-generational, multi-cultural and multi-genre based acoustic musical trio built on the rhythm section foundation of bass, piano and drums. From funk to fusion - from rock to jazz - from reggae to classical: Trio Generations has absorbed an eclectic blend of musical and cultural influences.
Still in his early 20's, our Austrian drummer Emil Gross lives on the border of Austria/Hungary and is firmly rooted in the music of his generation as well as past generations. Bassist Joe Fonda and Pianist Michael Jefry Stevens are both from New York City and have been performing together for close to 30 years. Together they have played with such American jazz master artists as Anthony Braxton, Pheeroan Aklaff, Wadada Leo Smith, Dave Douglas, Mark Feldman, Gerry Hemingway, Miles Griffith, Billy Martin (Martin-Medeski-Wood), Steve Turre, Cecil Bridgewater, Valery Ponamerev, Potato Valdez, Ken McIntyre, Charlie Persip, Lou Donaldson, Perry Robinson, Kenny Barron, Curtis Fuller, Chico Hamilton and many others. In addition both Mr. Fonda and Mr. Stevens have performed and continue to perform with a wide range of international jazz artists including Daunik Lazro (France), Gebhard Ullmann (Germany), Carlos Zingaro (Portugal), Szilard Mezei (Serbia), Balazs Bagyi (Hungary), Maciej Obara (Poland), Jon Hemmersam (Denmark), Esa Pietila (Finland) and many others.
The influence of African American music is international in scope and pervades most societies and countries that exist on the planet. From spirituals to blues to jazz to gospel to rock to funk ....... Each generation builds on each succeeding generations’ achievements and learns from their mistakes. As an ensemble Trio Generations exists to celebrate these different musics and cultures.
Emil Gross, the 23-years-young drumming breeze from Austria, actively at home in the tension area between funk, rock, drum&bass, jazz, avant-garde – turns his internal processes straight into tension-loaded, sensitive rhythmic spaces creating innovative sound spheres. Emil Gross toured with Debbie Davies over 3 years, but he also plays underground psychedelic blues with EBC - Electric Blues Circus, reggae, jazz and avantgarde... (Udo Preis)