Free music after the inception of free jazz during the late fifties and its extension throughout he sixties leveled the playing field – as it were – for what could be construed as entertainment. It’s unquestionable that even if you abhor the cosmic sounds John Coltrane expelled from the bell of his horn, it’d be engaging to watch in a live setting.

The visceral hadn’t always been a part of jazz. Louis Armstrong’s solos were. And bop players were to a certain degree, but amping it all up within the context of ‘do as you will’ made for a decade of musicians raised on out music.

Oliver Lake isn’t now, nor was he during the seventies, the biggest name in music. Or jazz. Or anything. The sax player (and teacher), though, led a succession of groups that staked a claim on jazz history. Beginning with the Black Artists Group, Lake took his music on the road with his company in tow. Hitting New York and eventually Europe aided in spreading his name around. But so did Lake’s contributions to the World Saxophone Quartet – an ensemble dedicated to working out difficult musics for some straighter audiences.

With all this time put into ‘the biz,’ it would make sense that Lake would eventually have earned a date or two as a leader.

Beginning in 1971 and continuing to the present day, Lake’s made a career out of the difficult musics first being expressed fifty years ago. As a date leader, though, Holding Together presents itself as somehow easily taken in, but challenging at the same time.

The air of respectability might emanate from Michael Gregory Jackson, the guitarist on this session. He doesn’t play melodies – if that’s what you’re thinking. But the tone his instrument apes sounds straight cribbed from ECM. And while that imprint isn’t known the world over for it’s pop hits, the music is palatable by a wide variety of players.

Over the course of Holding Together, Lake leads his ensemble through a wealth of improvised passages. Tracks like “Usta B” sport obviously composed passages. And while hitting each of those sections doesn’t work towards a conception of pop song structure, it does add a dash of familiarity to the proceedings.

So while Holding Together isn’t bound to find a new audience and sell a million copies, it can easily make inroads towards acceptance from not just the out music community, but the established jazz cognoscenti.