[2][3] Issued as part of Columbia Records' "Legendary Pioneers of Jazz" series, it was Batiste's first album for a major label.

[12] The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: "Always light and elegant, Batiste weaves delicate, diaphanous strands on the title track and manages a street sensibility coupled with a highbrow complexity on 'Bat's Blues'.

"[16] The Chicago Tribune stated that "Batiste adds an alert technique and an intense, compositional approach to improvisation.

"[14] The Times-Picayune stated that "Batiste's round, mellow tone alternates with tweaking arpeggios, gruff growls and jittering chromatics.

"[19] AllMusic wrote that Batiste "has a conventional and pleasing tone that he utilizes to improvise in an unusual and harmonically advanced style.