"Make no mistake: Jackson and his usual crew (pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist David Williams, drummer McClenty Hunter) don't play these traditional religious numbers so reverently. Though Jackson and Manasia maintain an erudite Coltrane/Tyner-like hold over "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel," the rhythm section plays it hot and haughtily, like a stripper-pole anthem. To perform spirituals such as "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" and "Mary Had a Baby, Yes Lord," associated with the esteemed likes of Mahalia Jackson and Sonny Rollins, gives Jackson-the educator, the quartet leader, and the saxophonist-a deep sense of history to go with his own fresh association on Bible verse".