Baraka’s comment became writing on the wall—in 1965, Coltrane replaced Tyner with his wife, Alice Coltrane. Chris Pearson of The Times rated this release 4 out of 5 stars, writing that Coltrane and Dolphy were at artistic heights, but criticizes Reggie Workman's solo in "Africa".

Editors at Stereogum run a monthly article on the state of jazz and the July 2023 edition included a retrospective on Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah and the intersection of African music with jazz forms. Andrew Male of Mojo gave this release 4 out of 5 stars, praising several tracks, including the concluding recording of "Africa" as being like a "historic moment", and also notes the extensive liner notes from Ashley Kahn. Recorded with the same line-up as this album, it’s a euphoric, exploratory masterclass in what Coltrane was capable of in 1961. In Ashley Kahn’s exemplary linernotes to this release, which are accompanied by the memories of Workman and Alderson, he places great importance on that Downbeat article, particularly Dolphy and Coltrane’s answers to the repeated question: “What are you trying to do?Coltrane’s Classic Quartet was not as fully established as it would soon become and there was a meteoric fifth member of Coltrane’s group those nights - visionary multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. Then again, Coltrane once said that he considered “My Favorite Things” to be the best recording he ever made.

The original purpose of this recording was to asses the sound system of the newly opened Village Gate club. However, as a general recording condition, the entire performance of the night can be understood well. Basslines are sometimes difficult to unearth from the tumult, with the notable exception of “Africa”—ditto Dolphy’s more delicate trills. The concert itself is fascinating Coltrane still is modal mode but getting increasingly ferocious in his sound explorations with Dolphy going his own way into the avant garde with his angular, but not unmelodic, sound.John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy Evenings At The Village Gate Reviewed: Newly rediscovered sessions show a genius in transition Rediscovered performances from 1961 document the saxophone colossus’s short-lived quintet including multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. The degree to which this is a transitional recording is perhaps best exemplified by the early run through of Coltrane’s Impressions, first recorded in the studio in 1962 but best known from the version captured at New York’s Village Vanguard in November 1961. In Financial Times, Mike Hobart gave this work 4 out of 5 stars, stating: "the set stands up well against Coltrane’s other live recordings of the time". Twenty-four-year-old engineer and Village scenester Rich Alderson wanted to test the club’s sound system and also an old RCA 77-A ribbon microphone he had modified. Of course Coltrane makes My Favourite Things something beautiful but what makes this recording so very special is Eric Dolphy.

Coltrane’s road to the avant-garde was built from his ability to compose, arrange, and imagine new roles for diverse instruments on his bandstands.Or, maybe, it's the nostalgic memories of having lived together in that era that makes it so, I'm not sure.