Robert Christgau wrote: "The cameos ... are the giveaways, because this jaunty concept needs those guys, to sing or solo as the case may be. The headliners are the lounge band of a tourist's dreams, and that's all they are."[3]The New York Times wrote that "while the band's arrangements can be dissonant, except for the use of a baritone saxophone and the omission of clarinet its instrumental lineup is quite traditional and includes two trumpets, two saxophones, trombone, sousaphone, and snare and bass drums."[11] The St. Petersburg Times thought that "driven by [Kirk] Joseph's sousaphone, the other horn players weave an earthy mosaic of tangled riffs and clipped, edgy solos."[12]USA Today stated that "without a pianist or a bass player, the band alternates in this eight-song set between finger-snapping jazz and Mardi Gras party rhythms."[13]