The album is considered by many fans and critics to be the pinnacle of Montgomery's recorded studio work.
The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected it as part of its suggested "Core Collection".
AllMusic critic Michael G. Nastos praised the album, writing: "Setting him apart from the rest, this recording established Montgomery as the most formidable modern guitarist of the era, and eventually its most influential...Montgomery is clearly talented beyond convention, consistently brilliant, and indeed incredible in the company of his sidemen, and this recording—an essential addition to every jazz guitarist fan's collection—put him on the map." Of the CD reissue, critic Chris May of
All About Jazz wrote: "
The Incredible Jazz Guitar burst onto the US scene in 1960 like a benign hurricane, and it still sounds like a gale almost 50 years later... Montgomery—empathetically accompanied by pianist
Tommy Flanagan, bassist
Percy Heath (then riding high with the
Modern Jazz Quartet), and drummer
Albert Heath—makes the guitar sound like it never had before. It has sounded similar since, of course, thanks to the legion of Montgomery-influenced players, but rarely so close to perfection....
The Incredible Jazz Guitar endures, and will continue to do so." ==LP Track listing==