AllMusic awarded the album 4½ stars stating "Tenor saxophonist Jackson and organist McDuff might be the spotlighted performers in the marketing, but actually it's a pretty integrated full-band, small-group sound. There's not much original material from Jackson, though (and no original tunes from McDuff), with a New Orleans-tinged version of Hank Williams' "Jambalaya" the most unexpected cover choice".[2]
Track listing
All compositions by Willis Jackson except where noted.
Recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey on May 25, 1959 (tracks 1 & 5), and at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on November 9, 1959 (track 7), February 26, 1960 (track 6) and December 13, 1961 (track 2–4 & 8)