"[3] David Whiteis of Jazz Times stated: "Rudd's timbral and emotional range is as diverse as ever, and his gnarled imprecations keep pop ballads... and novelty-tinged offerings... from getting too cute.

"[4] Writing for Latin Jazz Net, Raul Da Gama described the album as "a look at timeless standards, by which he has made them timeless again, re-creating them completely with all their ageless beauty, making them ripple through the flesh and the bone; through body and soul, touching the very nerve endings of the body with notes that are charged with emotion in every muted growl and angular human smear.

"[5] Tom Hull commented: "With the 'Joe Hill' suite at the end, this could have been called Trombone for the Masses: I don't mind the rapper there but the NYC Labor Choir takes some getting used to even though I feel like saluting the political point.

"[6] Jeff Simon of The Buffalo News remarked: "Here is one of the goofiest jazz discs you'll encounter in a while.

All of Rudd's muting – with plungers and otherwise – can't disguise the cognitive dissonance of his use of the trombone as yearning instrument of love.