It was recorded at Mayhew Street Studios in Larchmont, New York, during January 1977, and was released on vinyl by Hemphill's own Mbari label later that year as a two-LP set.

[1][2][3][4] In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek wrote: "Blue Boyé is a singular album, born of equal parts inspiration, determination, and artistry.

"[1] Robert Palmer of The New York Times noted that "not everything works," but stated: "the music is most interesting when Hemphill re-examines traditional forms such as Kansas City swing and the spiritual, subjecting them to modern harmonic and rhythmic treatments without jeopardizing their idiomatic integrity.

"[6] Author Gary Giddins singled out the ten-bar blues "Kansas City Line" for praise, commenting: "at the end of every chorus you feel as if he might go over a cliff, but he always grabs the tonic in time... he descries the spirit and fiber of [Charlie] Parker without reiterating his actual phrases, an effect achieved by muting notes and twisting figures that are almost but not quite generic.

"[7] Writing for JazzTimes, Amiri Baraka remarked: "Hemphill's playing, self-consciously cerebral, sometimes to a fault, the tart, incisive tone, the richness and whimsicality of his improvisation, give a cutting edge of excitement to his work.