''Something in Return'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist

Jimmy Lyons Jimmy Lyons (December 1, 1931 – May 19, 1986) was an American alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. Lyons was the only constant member of the band from the mid-1960s until his death. Taylor neve ...

and American jazz drummer

Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographe ...

. It was recorded in February 1981 at Soundscape, New York City, and released by the

Black Saint Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

label in 1988.

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review awarded the album 3 stars. The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' awarded the album 3½ stars, and wrote: "Among the most fruitful encounters of Lyons's sadly under-documented career were his duos with Cyrille, a fellow-alumnus of Cecil Taylor Academy. Cyrille is a one-man orchestra, conjuring layered energies that make a sax-and-drums 'Take the A Train' seem anything but absurd... superb examples of two masters in flight." Doug Simpson, writing for ''Audiophile Audition'', called the opening track "a challenging exercise in extemporization, imagination and instrumental expertise. Cyrille's rolling percussion is heavy, heady and holistic and benefits from close microphone placement. Every brushstroke or cymbal touch has gravitas. Lyons does not abandon Ellington's conspicuous chorus, but gives it a fresh twist or two." He concluded: "This isn't effortless music to grasp but the overall aggression is something to behold... At times, the music is like an onslaught but the music breathes as well..."

Track listing

# "Take the 'A' Train" (

Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger, who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take ...

) - 8:21 # "Something in Return" (Cyrille) - 14:25 # "Lorry" (Lyons) - 6:19 # "J.L." (Lyons) - 5:10 # "Nuba" (Cyrille) - 9:46 # Fragments I (Cyrille / Lyons) - 15:41 *Recorded at Soundscape, New York, NY on February 13, 1981.

Personnel

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

References

{{Authority control Black Saint/Soul Note live albums Jimmy Lyons live albums Andrew Cyrille live albums 1988 live albums