[1][2][3][4] Guy interpreted the Greek title in its original meaning of "coming together,"[5] and the work attempts to find solutions to the challenges surrounding the coexistence of improvisation and composition.

[6] In a retrospective interview, Guy recalled the LJCO's financial difficulties, and reflected: "Luckily, things went very well for me in the baroque music business.

"[7] A version of "Harmos" also appears on the 2001 trio recording Odyssey with Guy, Marilyn Crispell, and Paul Lytton.

[9][6] In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek called the piece "a work of deft imagination, powerful technique, and wild interplay," and wrote: "The most beautiful thing about Guy is that as a composer he is not hung up on resolution, he's more concerned with the notion that everything in the palette be viewed, everything that's in the box should be rolled out and put on display.

"[5] Writer John Corbett described the album as "the band's most consummate disc," and "a sparkling recording that can serve as a smart way to ease a neophyte into the pleasures of improvised music and satisfy the appetites of devoted free fans as well.