"[3] Raul d'Gama Rose of All About Jazz awarded the album 5 stars, calling it "a monumental undertaking and a major work," and writing: "This is Coursil's musical Way of the Cross, one that unfolds like a sharp angular liturgy that is sure to become part of the literature of the trumpet... Trails of Tears is the work of a musician with a magical, burnished horn, who stands head and shoulders above most trumpeters practicing their craft today.

"[4] Steve Greenlee of The Boston Globe included Trails of Tears in his article "Jazz's Top Albums of 2011," calling it "absolutely stunning.

"[7] John Murph, writing for DownBeat, commented: "Trails of Tears gets too fascinated with exposition and pays little attention to discernible narrative arc," but praised 'The Removal," stating that "the ensemble engages in heady dialogue... All of the musicians become more concerned with textural and sonic exploration rather than conventional melody.

"[5] In an article for Artforum, David Grundy wrote: "The album forces us to consider what it means to represent the unrepresentable, to render historical trauma in art.

"[2] Music and Literature's Cam Scott wrote: "this instrumental rendering of place feels conversational as well as narrative, a wistful annotation of so many captured landscapes and their people."