"[1] The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awarded the album a full 4 stars, and noted Rutherford's sense of humor, stating: "The trombone has obvious slapstick potential, but you'll come away from this smiling at the sheer joy he takes in making those beautiful, human, inhuman sounds.

"[10] Writer Raul Da Gama stated that the album "will leave the music aficionado breathless," and remarked: "The trombone was a wild thing in the hands of the late Paul Rutherford.

His was a primordial, human voice moaning and crying with elemental yowls, moaning growls and guttural smears that seem to come not only from the lips and tongue rattling on gums and palate, but from deep within the throat with great gulps of air from his lungs."

"[11] Regarding the live tracks, Peter Marsh of the BBC, wrote: "there's something of the festival vibe about the music here.

"[12] Writing for One Final Note, Michael Rosenstein called the album "a valuable glimpse at an area of Rutherford's career that is not well documented, as well as an intriguing chronicle of Rogers in a formative state of his playing.