The groundbreaking album launched "soul jazz", according to NPR, bridging "the gap between bebop and funk".

[3][4] The album was recorded at The Jazz Workshop in San Francisco before an appreciative standing-room only crowd.

[5] The album broke new ground as a live recording taped in noisy club environments,[5] creating a formula that not only the Cannonball Quintet but other jazz ensembles would follow.

[8] Music critic Scott Yanow describes the album as a "gem [...] essential for all jazz collections.

"[9] The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 3 stars, stating: "In San Francisco is a little overstretched, with four tracks nudging the 12-minute mark and some of the solos running out of steam too soon".