The album, which was recorded June 23–25, 2003 at Clinton Studios in New York, New York, was recorded in celebration of a retrospective exhibit of the art of Romare Bearden which opened at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC and subsequently traveled to San Francisco, Dallas, New York and Atlanta in 2004 and 2005.

[3] The album recorded jazz tunes whose names Bearden had used for paintings as well as original compositions.

[1] Writing for AllMusic.com, Matt Collar called the album an "earthy and accessible homage" to Bearden, noting strong performances by Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., and Doug Wamble.

[1] Ben Ratliff in the New York Times says the album "reflects the nexus of country and city" and calls the performance by Marsalis's quartet "reliably hot.

"[4] JazzTimes called Marsalis's playing "better than ever" and noted the "joyous, emphatic quality" of the performances.