[1] The album is the culmination of a musical association that dated back to April 1969, and that involved appearances in concert halls and cultural centers, as well as work for NBC Television.

[2] In a review for AllMusic, Brian Olewnick wrote: "Both musicians are steeped in African drum traditions as well as being free improvisers of the highest order, so it's not surprising that the resulting concert is highly rhythmic, densely 'noisy,' and always very imaginative.

Utilizing an enormous arsenal of percussive instruments in addition to the standard drum set, Cyrille and Graves, as the album title suggests, engage in intense conversations with each other, interacting with loose precision and exploding into frenzies of clattering assault.

Isolating the individual contributions is virtually fruitless, but one can discern Cyrille's patented foot stomps and body smackings, as well as Graves' vocalizations and call and response activities with the audience.

Cyrille, like Graves, has an expansive grasp of percussion techniques, and they share awareness of music's broader cultural significance in terms of health, communication and collective identity.