The album contains 12 solo tracks that include Grenadier's originals as well as compositions written by George Gershwin, John Coltrane, Paul Motian, Rebecca Martin, and Wolfgang Muthspiel.

Grenadier also explained, "I experimented with various tunings and scordatura, like the 17th- and 18th-century violinists used, to get a full range of sounds – and that ended up giving the instrument a whole new vibration for me, a feeling of real sonic potential.

"[17] In his review for All About Jazz Karl Ackermann stated, "It's not surprising that Grenadier hasn't released a solo album, given the relative rarity of stand-alone bass recordings, but The Gleaners proves to be worth the wait.

"[1] Alex W. Rodriguez of DownBeat wrote, "A testament to one of our generation’s true bass craftsmen, The Gleaners offers a pathway into a brilliant mind taking a rare and well-deserved turn in the spotlight.

"[18] Fred Grand of Jazz Journal noted, "Brilliantly conceived and executed from start to finish, The Gleaners offers an exploded view an artist at the peak of his powers and makes a worthy edition to ECM’s prestigious library of music for solo bass.