On the album, Silva is joined by flutist Becky Friend, pianist Dave Burrell, pianist and organist Mike Ephron, vibraphonist Karl Berger, and percussionists Lawrence Cooke, Barry Altschul, and Mario Pavone.

[3] According to Silva, the album was based on the notion of "skillful means" (Upaya) as expressed in the Buddhist Lotus Sutra.

Silva later stated that "Solestrial" was his first recorded attempt to conduct an improvisation, and acknowledged the influence of Sun Ra, with whom he had worked, in this regard.

"[6] In a review for AllMusic, Dan Warburton stated that "Skillfullness" "gives the lie to the idea that free jazz in New York in 1968 was all about blowing the wall down," and noted that on "Solestrial," "Silva was able to summon extraordinary solo performances from his musicians... without losing sight of the work's overall architecture.

"[3] Regarding "Skillfullness," the authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings commented: "For all the hippy fantasies of rock and the space operas emerging on the fringes of jazz, nothing of the time quite captures its spirit – ethereal but grounded in sophisticated intelligence and high technical skill – quite as well."