{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Within a Song | type = studio | artist = John Abercrombie Quartet | cover = Within a Song.jpg | alt = | released = April 27, 2012 | recorded = September 2011 | venue = | studio = Avatar (New York, New York) | genre = Jazz | length = 61:11 | label = ECM<br>{{small|ECM 2254}} | producer = Manfred Eicher | chronology = John Abercrombie | prev_title = Wait Till You See Her | prev_year = 2009 | next_title = 39 Steps | next_year = 2013 }}
'''''Within a Song''''' is a studio album by the John Abercrombie Quartet, recorded in September 2011 and released on ECM Records in April 2012. The quartet features Abercrombie on guitar, Joe Lovano on saxophone, Drew Gress on bass and Joey Baron on drums.<ref name="ECM discography">[http://www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/2200/2254.php ECM discography] accessed December 9, 2011</ref>
==Reception== {{Music ratings | rev2 = ''The Guardian'' | rev2Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="TheGuardian"/> | rev1 = ''The Australian'' | rev1Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="TheAustralian"/> | rev3 = Tom Hull | rev3score = B+({{Rating-Christgau|hm3}})<ref>{{cite web |title=Tom Hull: Grade List: John Abercrombie |url=https://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/get_gl.php?n=John+Abercrombie| publisher=Tom Hull |access-date=9 December 2025}}</ref> }} In a four star review for ''The Guardian,'' John Fordham states that "this all-star group constantly demonstrate how joyous that can sound without winding up the volume."<ref name="TheGuardian">Fordham, J. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/may/10/john-abercrombie-within-song-review The Guardian Review], May 11, 2012</ref>
''JazzTimes'' observed "in typical crystalline ECM fashion, ''Within a Song'' plays tricks with its role models, pushing envelopes that were elastic to begin with."<ref>Wolff, C. [http://jazztimes.com/articles/54353-within-a-song-john-abercrombie-quartet JazzTimes Review] September 4, 2012</ref>
John McBeath of ''The Australian'' wrote, "This is a valuable collection by two old masters in a nostalgic, relaxed setting of expert craftsmanship."<ref name="TheAustralian">McBeath, J. [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/within-a-song-john-abercrombie-quartet/story-fn9n8gph-1226424413956#mm-premium The Australian Review], July 14, 2012</ref>
''Stereophile'' correspondent Fred Kaplan noted, "''Within a Song'' is something of a high-wire act: delicate music of an uninsistent intensity, a quiet swing, that hangs together or collapses on the ensemble's sustenance of balance."<ref>Kaplan, F. [http://www.stereophile.com/content/john-abercrombie-quartet-iwithin-songi Stereophile Review], August 15, 2012</ref>
==Track listing== {{track listing | title1 = Where Are You? | writer1 = {{hlist|Harold Adamson|Jimmy McHugh}} | length1 = 5:54 | title2 = Easy Reader | writer2 = Abercrombie | length2 = 6:37 | title3 = Within a Song/Without a Song | writer3 = {{hlist|Abercrombie/Billy Rose|Edward Eliscu|Vincent Youmans}} | length3 = 7:55 | title4 = Flamenco Sketches | writer4 = Miles Davis | length4 = 6:34 | title5 = Nick of Time | writer5 = Abercrombie | length5 = 5:57 | title6 = Blues Connotation | writer6 = Ornette Coleman | length6 = 6:11 | title7 = Wise One | writer7 = John Coltrane | length7 = 9:12 | title8 = Interplay | writer8 = Bill Evans | length8 = 6:26 | title9 = Sometime Ago | writer9 = Sergio Mihanovich | length9 = 6:25 }}
==Personnel== * John Abercrombie – guitar * Joe Lovano – tenor saxophone * Drew Gress – double bass * Joey Baron – drums
==References== {{reflist}} {{John Abercrombie (guitarist)}} {{Joe Lovano}} {{Authority control}}
Category:ECM Records albums Category:John Abercrombie (guitarist) albums Category:2012 albums Category:Albums produced by Manfred Eicher