The review by Allmusic's Scott Yanow said: "Frank Morgan's comeback (he had gone 30 years between recordings) was a major story in the mid-1980s ... The music is high-quality bop, with Morgan shedding much of his Charlie Parker influence to display his own distinctive sound".[4] In The New York Times, Robert Palmer wrote: "Mr. Morgan's new album Lament lets us know how much we've been missing. ... he plays with burning conviction, and with a fluidity that can be positively dazzling. The six tunes are well-chosen. ... Overall, this is a more impressive album than last year's very fine Easy Living. It seems that at age 53, Frank Morgan's time has finally come".[5]