Jim Miller's Rolling Stone review stated "The Art Ensemble of Chicago plays a music steeped in the black American musical tradition and its African heritage. They offer the rare spectacle of an intrinsically historical yet wholly contemporary jazz. Phase One marks one of the year's jazz events on record; more indelibly than Bap-Tizum it captures the quintessence of this extraordinary group."[4] The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "This is one of the least well-known recordings by the AEC, but it is also one of their most enduring and a true high mark from their Paris period".[5]