}} The editors of
AllMusic awarded the album a full 5 stars, and reviewer
Scott Yanow called it "a major success" and "a real standout."
Murray Horwitz of
NPR Music described the album as "an important expression of a very important jazz composer" as well as "a whole lot of fun," and wrote: "One test of good composition is how well it stands up to reinterpretation. This music truly does." The authors of
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings suggested that "the band could probably have used a lot more time to figure out the composer's vision," and commented: "in general the ensemble catches only elements of Monk's intentions: his peculiar truce between a sober gaiety, bleak humour and thunderous intensity is a difficult thing for a big band to realize." == Track listing ==