[4] He was backed by Billy Pierce on saxophone, Charnett Moffett on bass, Wallace Roney on trumpet, and Mulgrew Miller on piano.

[10][11] The St. Petersburg Times concluded that "Williams is unquestionably an expert and innovative drummer, but his composing skills—a recent concentration—are shaky...

"[16] The New York Times noted that "the music is easygoing, even at fast tempos; Mr. Williams knocks the tunes around with carefree mastery, but too often he allows his soloists ... to reel off the steady strings of 16th-notes and arpeggios that are hard-bop's common currency.

"[5] The Los Angeles Times said that "the music, composed by Williams, is powered by his crisp stick work: rapidly shifting layers of rhythms coming from carefully tuned drums that almost give his playing a melodic quality.

[15] The Globe and Mail opined that "the ballads sound like most quintet's ballads—his musicians play them in a way that falls halfway between the dutiful and the inspired—but the heavy slugging, with Moffett as bullish as his leader, could only be the work of Tony Williams.