''Junction'' is a live album by 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 May and June 1976 at two different venues in New York City, and was released later that year by the Institute of Percussive Studies. On the album, Cyrille is joined by members of the band Māōnō: saxophonist

David S. Ware David Spencer Ware (November 7, 1949 – October 18, 2012) was an American jazz saxophone, saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. Biography Ware was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and grew up in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. While in high sc ...

, trumpeter

Ted Daniel Ted Daniel (born June 4, 1943) is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. Biography He studied trumpet in elementary school, and began his professional career playing local gigs with his childhood friend, the legendary guitarist Sonny Sharrock. ...

, and bassist

Lisle Atkinson Lisle Arthur Atkinson (sometimes "Lysle") (born September 16, 1940, New York, NY; died March 25, 2019, New York, NY) was an American jazz double-bassist. Career Atkinson played violin from the age of four and switched to stand-up bass at 12 years ...

. Liner notes were provided by

Stanley Crouch Stanley Lawrence Crouch (December 14, 1945 – September 16, 2020) was an American poet, music and cultural critic, syndicated columnist, novelist, and biographer. He was known for his jazz criticism and his 2000 novel ''Don't the Moon Look ...

. In 1977, the album was reissued by the Japanese label Whynot with different track names and sequence.

Reception

Henry Kuntz Henry Kuntz is a free jazz saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. In 1979 he founded Hummingbird Records and Tapes, which released, among other things, live recordings of his free jazz trio, Trio Opeye. Cadence Magazine described his multitrack r ...

, writing for Bells, suggested that, on ''Junction'', Cyrille paid tribute to fellow drummer

Sunny Murray James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming. Biography Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...

. He commented: "You can hear it on the title track; also on 'Okurinomo,' a slow, high-pitched, ritual-like chanted tune, that evokes from Cyrille the subtly repetitive wave-like motions... that have come to mark the work of Murray. Interesting that this should happen as Cyrille's playing moves more in the direction of ritual... for in that type of structure, repetition is frequently used to great dramatic and evocative effect. I doubt that Cyrille's playing on these pieces is deliberately (ritually) derivative... but is likely more a felt improvisational response to the nature of his own compositions – the emotional demands of the moment. If ''Junction'' offers a bit less of Cyrille’s usual all-encompassing drum vision, it is a moving and, on its own terms, important musical statement."

Track listing

All compositions by Andrew Cyrille. # "Junction" – 19:03 (in three movements: "Do You Know Where '1' Is?"; "Do You Know Where '2' Is?"; "Connaturally") # "Sidi Ahmed-Sidi" – 8:47 # "Ginakus 'M'" – 2:47 # "Okurimono (Gift From Japan)" – 21:14 * Tracks 2 and 4 recorded on May 23, 1976, at Studio Rivbea in New York City. Tracks 1 and 3 recorded on June 12, 1976, at Wollman Auditorium, Columbia University, in New York City.

Personnel

– drums, bells, gongs, kalimba, voice *

– tenor saxophone *

– trumpet, flugelhorn, effects *

– bass

References

{{Reflist 1976 live albums Andrew Cyrille albums