The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars stating, "The Dreamer Is the Dream is impressive for all the right reasons.

For their part, the players' intuitive engagement with him and one another is dictated by a collective willingness to let the music do the primary talking and respond in kind.

"[4] The Guardian's John Fordham noted "there’s a new creative tension within the quartet for his third ECM album as leader, perhaps because there seem to be two key partnerships complementing and challenging each other within it: Potter’s with longtime bass sidekick Joe Martin, and Cuban-American pianist David Virelles’ edgier, contemporary one with drummer Marcus Gilmore.

[2] In another review for the same website Mark Sullivan noted "In short, while this is the most conventional of Potter's ECM albums, it's still a kaleidoscopic affair, full of contrasting moods and tonal colors.

"[3] RTÉ reviewer Paddy Kehoe called it "a rich, yet curiously elusive album" stating "Tenor and soprano sax visionary Chris Potter has produced a richly poised, seductive album in The Dreamer is the Dream, on which the American musician shines.