The tape of the concert, which was recorded for radio broadcast, did not surface until 1999, when it was mentioned in a chat room and was eventually brought to the attention of Michael Cuscuna.

[3] In a review for AllMusic, Ken Dryden called the album "one of the finds of the decade" and wrote that "Dolphy's playing is consistently rewarding".

"[5] The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings wrote: "this belated release is a key step in building a more complete picture of Dolphy's foreshortened development.

"[4] John Sharpe, writing for All About Jazz, declared that the album "represents a major addition to the Dolphy discography", and thanked Blue Note for "unearthing this long-buried treasure!

"[6] Doug Ramsey wrote that Dolphy's playing is "strong medicine for many listeners in a time when homogenization, rather than individuality, wins the prize" and praised the bass clarinet introduction to "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise", stating that it "puts into a neat and irresistible package instrumental mastery, rhythmic urgency, audacious interval leaps, tonal refraction, humor and a speech-inflected delivery emblematic of the individuality that is the one attribute shared by the best jazz musicians.