The album features bassist Buell Neidlinger, drummer Denis Charles, and vibraphonist Earl Griffith.

The AllMusic review by Brian Olewnick states: "Looking Ahead!

It's an amazing document of a talent fairly straining at the reins, a meteor about to burst onto the jazz scene and render it forever changed...

is a vital recording from the nascence of one of the towering geniuses of modern music and belongs in any jazz fan's collection".

[4] The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 3½ stars, commenting: "the most pensive of Taylor's early recordings may be the best place to start in appreciating his music," and noting that "Toll" "embarks on a new journey towards his own territory.