"[5] In an article for the Chicago Tribune, Bill Meyer wrote: "The disc captures the ensemble's carefully balanced blend of vivacious soloing and meticulous arrangements, which simultaneously evoke the long history of jazz and explore the novel textures created by juxtaposing the bowed strings of cellist Naomi Millender and double bassist Harrison Bankhead with a swaggering brass section.

"[6] In a review for Spin, D. Strauss remarked: "8 Bold Souls is very much in the AACM lineage of placing tradition in a taffy pull - stretching its sweetness and gathering a few gnats, too.

Imagine Henry Threadgill leaving the ashram for an extended engagement at the 5 Spot, plus a David Murray-esque talent for turning an octet into a gentle army.

"[4] CMJ New Music Report's Ron Hart stated that the album "nimbly leaps over the wall that separates jazz music's traditional melodic obligations from its jones for the avant-garde with astounding skill and invention... Last Option... is an expansive freewheeling recording so varied in tempo and form that it almost sounds like an imaginary, late-night jam-session between Duke Ellington and Sun Ra...

"[7] Peter Margasak, writing for JazzTimes, commented: "Whereas earlier recordings sanded away most of the music's edges, here they remain sharp, revealing an urgency and spark missing on the others... As usual it's Wilkerson's superb compositions that make sense of that urgency, episodic gems that shape-shift invisibly... Each performance is marked by a telepathic ensemble sound, as the group-together for over 15 years with only three personnel changes-communicates on a super-human level.