[10] To record the album, Lovano has assembled a medium-sized band of prominent musicians, inviting trumpeter Tim Hagans, trombonist Conrad Herwig, alto saxophonist Steve Slagle, baritonist Gary Smulyan, pianist John Hicks, bassist Dennis Irwin, drummer Lewis Nash, and tenor saxophonists George Garzone and Ralph Lalama.

[12] Doug Ramsey of Jazz Times stated: Lovano’s venture in nostalgia is a visit to the music that he heard when he was growing up and becoming a musician in Cleveland.

The compositions the tenor saxophonist explores were written or played by Tadd Dameron, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Ernie Henry, Billy Strayhorn and George Gershwin.

The evidence of this first outing favors that idea.David Adler of All About Jazz commented: While Joe Lovano has played some decidedly non-mainstream music during his career, this record is a powerful reminder of the tenor giant’s debt to the tradition.

Joined by what is in essence a small big band, Lovano pays tribute to the legendary players and composers of the bebop era, with a concentration on the great Tadd Dameron.