Ken Dryden of Allmusic noted that: "this is the first of the only two CDs they recorded for DIW prior to Waits' death in 1989. The two standards include a driving version of "I Hear a Rhapsody" and an easygoing "Like Someone in Love," though most of the session focuses on originals. Miller contributed three songs, including the constantly shifting post-bop vehicle "No Sidestepping," the unusually structured ballad "Whisper," and the thoughtful hard bop tune "Second Thoughts," the latter a tune that shows the influence of James Williams, with whom Miller had recorded previously while working with Art Blakey. Workman's "Shades of Angola" is introduced by Waits' furious solo before taking shape as a brisk samba as the others join the drummer. Waits' tense "Two Faces of Nasheet" (dedicated to his son, who also took up the drums) is easily the most exotic offering of the date, delivering a Far Eastern flavor and a hint of John Coltrane in Miller's McCoy Tyner-like solo, though it also shifts back and forth into a more conventional ballad setting."^[5]

• Reggie Workman – bass
• Frederick Waits – drums
• Mulgrew Miller – piano