View from Within
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = View from Within
| type = Album
| artist = Muhal Richard Abrams
| cover = View from Within.jpg
| alt =
| released = 1985
| recorded = 11 & 27 September 1984
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Jazz
| length = 42:32
| label = Black Saint
| producer = Giovanni Bonandrini
| prev_title = Rejoicing with the Light
| prev_year = 1983
| next_title = Roots of Blue
| next_year = 1986
}}
View from Within is an album by Muhal Richard Abrams released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1985 and featuring performances of six of Abrams' compositions by an octet.
Reception
{{Music ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|3.5|5}}[http://www.allmusic.com/album/r134222 Allmusic Review]
| rev2 = The Penguin Guide to Jazz
| rev2Score = {{rating|3|4}}}}
The AllMusic review by Ron Wynn states "This '84 date included some intriguing instrumental configurations at times (vibes/flute/percussion, piano/clarinet/bass clarinet) and ranked among his best '80s dates".Wynn, R. [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r134222|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic Review] accessed 2 March 2009. The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 3 stars stating "View sounds like a thoroughly personal statement. The multi-instrumental approach lends it a fluid, unsettled quality, but with a huge timbral and textural range".{{cite book|last = Cook|first = Richard|author-link = Richard Cook (journalist)|author2 = Brian Morton|authorlink2 = Brian Morton (Scottish writer)|title = The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings|origyear = 1992|edition = 8th|series = The Penguin Guide to Jazz|year = 2006|publisher = Penguin|location = London|isbn = 978-0-141-02327-4|pages = [https://archive.org/details/penguinguidetoja00cook_1/page/5 5]|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/penguinguidetoja00cook_1/page/5}}
Track listing
All compositions by Muhal Richard Abrams
- "Laja" - 6:36
- "View from Within" - 7:52
- "Personal Conversations" - 7:45
- "Down at Peppers" - 12:31
- "Positrain" - 3:48
- "Inner Lights" - 4:00
Personnel
- Muhal Richard Abrams: piano, gongs
- Stanton Davis: trumpet, flugelhorn
- John Purcell: soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, flute
- Marty Ehrlich: alto saxophone, flute, piccolo, tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
- Warren Smith: vibraphone, marimba, gongs
- Ray Mantilla: bongos, conga, percussion
- Rick Rozie: bass
- Thurman Barker: drums orchestral bells, marimba, gong