[1] AllMusic awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "Live at the Village Vanguard is a good CD musically, but there's not much jump-up factor here -- it's moody and very bluesy in feeling if not actual form, almost like chamber jazz at times.

The very compressed, muted recorded sound doesn't alleviate the somber aspect of the listening experience any, but jazz is about capturing the moment.

And those were the moments, emotional and musical, caught by these three master musicians on those two December nights".

[2] The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awarded the album 4 stars, and wrote: "Live is both accessible and inexhaustible, making its appeal at all sorts of unexpected levels...

Even allowing for the head start of Keith Jarrett's 'Standards' trio, this is probably the best piano-led group currently working.