The editors ofAllMusic awarded the album 4 stars, and reviewerScott Yanow stated: "even this early, she was already a major jazz singer with a style of her own".[2]
A reviewer forBillboard commented: "Miss Lincoln is a comer with a flare for the dramatic and an effective delivery... Material treated is provocative; some of it off-beat, some in the standard category."[7]
Eric Ajaye of theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation noted that the album "marked the beginnings of a real change in the singer's style," and remarked: "While her debut was a flowery orchestral session featuring a big band with strings, this sophomore date pitted Abbey's expressive voice against some of New York's leading voices... Here, we get our first glimpse of a revitalised Abbey Lincoln, and both she and Roach would take this incandescent energy into the next decade with music made in response to the civil rights movement."[8]
The authors ofThe Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings wrote: "Dorham is one of the most naturally vocal of the bop trumpeters and as such is an ideal partner, though it's the still underrated Kelly who carries the day."[4]
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