 Allmusic's Thom Jurek notes the interplay of Coleman and Cherry on tunes he described as "knottier and tighter in their arrangement style" than those of the previous album.Ekkehard Jost, in his book "Free Jazz", noted that "as early as the 1958/59 recordings for Contemporary, the most pronounced features of Coleman's saxophone playing were set.His bent for improvisations that were largely unrestrained harmonically is evident, even in pieces whose outward make-up is anything but revolutionary."