The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3 stars stating "this set features vibraphonist Milt Jackson with some of his favorite musicians... The performances are pretty straight-ahead for CTI... Although Cedar Walton does not sound as formidable on electric piano as on acoustic and the other solos overall are a bit safe, this is a nice album".^[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]

Track listing

All compositions by Milt Jackson except where noted

"Olinga" (Dizzy Gillespie) - 3:47
"Re-Rev" (Jimmy Heath, Jackson) - 6:08
"The Metal Melter" (Heath, Jackson) - 6:19
"The Steel Bender" - 5:27
"Lost April" (Eddie DeLange, Emil Newman, Hubert Spencer) - 4:35
"I'm Not So Sure" (Cedar Walton) - 8:35
"The Metal Melter" [alternate take] (Heath, Jackson) - 6:13 Bonus track on CD reissue
"The Steel Bender" [alternate take] - 5:10 Bonus track on CD reissue

Recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on January 9 & 10, 1974

Personnel

Milt Jackson – vibes
Jimmy Heath - soprano saxophone
Cedar Walton - piano
Ron Carter - bass
Mickey Roker - drums
Arnold Black, Harry Cykman, Max Ellen, Emanuel Green, Harold Kohon, Harry Lookofsky, David Nadien, Irving Spice - violin (tracks 1 & 5)
Jesse Levy, Charles McCracken, George Ricci, Alan Shulman - cello (tracks 1 & 5)
Bob James - arranger, conductor (tracks 1 & 5)

References

^ Milt Jackson discography accessed February 2, 2012
^ ^a ^b Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed February 2, 2012

v t e Milt Jackson
Studio albums	Howard McGhee and Milt Jackson (1948) Roll 'Em Bags (1949) Meet Milt Jackson (1949) Wizard of the Vibes (1952) Milt Jackson Quartet (1955) Opus de Jazz (1956) Ballads & Blues (1957) The Jazz Skyline (1956) Plenty, Plenty Soul (1957) Bags & Flutes (1957) Soul Brothers (1958) Bean Bags (1959) Bags' Opus (1959) Bags & Trane (1960) The Ballad Artistry of Milt Jackson (1960) Soul Meeting (1961) Vibrations (1961) Very Tall (1961) Statements (1961) Bags Meets Wes! (1961) Big Bags (1962) Invitation (1962) For Someone I Love (1962) Much in Common (1964) Jazz 'n' Samba (1964) In a New Setting (1964) Ray Brown / Milt Jackson (1965) Born Free (1966) Milt Jackson and the Hip String Quartet (1968) Memphis Jackson (1969) Reunion Blues (1971) Sunflower (1972) Goodbye (1973) Olinga (1974) The Big 3 (1975) Quadrant (1977) Ain't But a Few of Us Left (1981) Two of the Few (1983) Soul Route (1983)
Live albums	Milt Jackson Quintet Live at the Village Gate (1963) Milt Jackson at the Museum of Modern Art (1965) That's the Way It Is (1969) Just the Way It Had to Be (1969) The Milt Jackson Big 4 (1975)
With others	Quintet/Sextet (1956) Bags' Groove (1957) Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants (1959) Bags & Trane (1961)
Related articles	Modern Jazz Quartet

v t e Jimmy Heath
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, except where noted.
As leader or co-leader	The Thumper (1959) Really Big! (1960) The Quota (1961) Triple Threat (1962) Swamp Seed (1963) On the Trail (1964) Jam Gems: Live at the Left Bank (with Freddie Hubbard, 1965) The Gap Sealer (1972) Love and Understanding (1973) The Time and the Place (1974) Picture of Heath (1975) New Picture (1985) Peer Pleasure (1987) You've Changed (1991) Little Man Big Band (1992) You or Me (1995)
With Art Farmer	The Time and the Place: The Lost Concert (Mosaic, 1966) The Art Farmer Quintet Plays the Great Jazz Hits (1967) The Time and the Place (Columbia, 1967) Homecoming (1971)
With Milt Jackson	Howard McGhee and Milt Jackson (1948) Statements (1961) Vibrations (1961) Big Bags (1962) Invitation (1962) Milt Jackson Quintet Live at the Village Gate (1963) Jazz 'n' Samba (1963) In a New Setting (1964) Ray Brown / Milt Jackson (1965) Born Free (1966) Olinga (1974)
With others	That's Right! (Nat Adderley, 1960) Up with Donald Byrd (1964) Regeneration (Stanley Cowell, 1975) Miles Davis Volume 2 (1953) Kenny Dorham Quintet (1953) Showboat (Kenny Dorham, 1960) Black Drops (Charles Earland, 1970) Soul Trombone (Curtis Fuller, 1961) Smokin' (Curtis Fuller, 1972) The Quota (Red Garland, 1971) Kwanza (The First) (Albert Heath, 1973) Homecoming! (Elmo Hope, 1961) Hub Cap (Freddie Hubbard, 1961) Jay Hawk Talk (Carmell Jones, 1965) The Soul Society (Sam Jones, 1960) The Chant (Sam Jones, 1961) Down Home (Sam Jones, 1962) Latin Mann (Herbie Mann, 1965) Blue Soul (Blue Mitchell, 1959) A Sure Thing (Blue Mitchell, 1962) MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration (1994) Keep Swingin' (Julian Priester, 1960) Soul Sauce (Cal Tjader, 1964) Music Inc. (Charles Tolliver, 1970) New York, New Sound (Gerald Wilson, 2003) Turned to Blue (Nancy Wilson, released 2006)

v t e Cedar Walton
Year(s) indicated are for the recording(s), not first release.
As leader or co-leader	Cedar! (1967) Spectrum (1968) The Electric Boogaloo Song (1969) Soul Cycle (1969) Breakthrough! (1972) A Night at Boomers, Vol. 1 (1973) A Night at Boomers, Vol. 2 (1973) Firm Roots (1974) Pit Inn (1974) Mobius (1975) Eastern Rebellion (1976) The Pentagon (1975) Beyond Mobius (1976) Eastern Rebellion 2 (1977) First Set (1977) Second Set (1977) Third Set (1977) Animation (1978) Eastern Rebellion 3 (1979) Soundscapes (1980) The Maestro (1981) Piano Solos (1981) Heart & Soul (1982) Among Friends (1982) The All American Trio (1983) Eastern Rebellion 4 (1983) Cedar's Blues (1985) The Trio 1 (1985) The Trio 2 (1985) The Trio 3 (1985) Cedar Walton (1985) Bluesville Time (1985) Blues for Myself (1986) Cedar Walton Plays (1986) Duo (1990) Cedar Walton at Maybeck (1992) Manhattan Afternoon (1992) Composer (1996) Roots (1997) The Promise Land (2001) Latin Tinge (2002) Underground Memoirs (2005) Midnight Waltz (2005) One Flight Down (2006) Seasoned Wood (2008) Voices Deep Within (2009) The Bouncer (2011)
As sideman with Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers	Three Blind Mice (1961) Mosaic (1961) Buhaina's Delight (1961) Caravan (1962) Ugetsu (1963) Free for All (1964) Kyoto (1964) Indestructible (1964) Golden Boy (1964) Buhaina (1973) Anthenagin (1973)
With Art Farmer (or where stated), Benny Golson & The Jazztet	Take a Number from 1 to 10 (Golson, 1960–61) The Jazztet and John Lewis (The Jazztet, 1960–61) Big City Sounds (The Jazztet, 1961) The Jazztet at Birdhouse (The Jazztet, 1961) The Time and the Place (1967) The Art Farmer Quintet Plays the Great Jazz Hits (1967) Homecoming (1971) Yesterday's Thoughts (1975) To Duke with Love (1975) The Summer Knows (1976) Art Farmer Quintet at Boomers (1976) Voices All (The Jazztet, 1982)
With Eddie Harris	Cool Sax from Hollywood to Broadway (1964) The In Sound (1965) Mean Greens (1966) The Tender Storm (1966) Excursions (1966) How Can You Live Like That? (1976)
With Billy Higgins	Soweto (1979) The Soldier (1979) Once More (1980) Bridgework (1980–86) Billy Higgins Quintet (1993)
With Milt Jackson	Milt Jackson at the Museum of Modern Art (1965) Born Free (1966) Milt Jackson and the Hip String Quartet (1968) Goodbye (1972–73) Olinga (1974)
With Etta James	Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday (1994) Time After Time (1995) 12 Songs of Christmas (1998) Blue Gardenia (2000–1)
With Clifford Jordan	Spellbound (1960) Starting Time (1961) Bearcat (1962) These are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly (1965) Glass Bead Games (1973) Half Note (1974) Night of the Mark VII (aka, The Highest Mountain, Muse, 1975) On Stage Vol. 1 (1975) On Stage Vol. 2 (1975) On Stage Vol. 3 (1975) Firm Roots (1975) The Highest Mountain (SteepleChase, 1975)
With Blue Mitchell	The Cup Bearers (1962) Boss Horn (1966) Stratosonic Nuances (1975) Summer Soft (1977)
With Houston Person	Chocomotive (1967) Trust in Me (1967) Blue Odyssey (1968) Broken Windows, Empty Hallways (1972) The Big Horn (1976) Very Personal (1980) Naturally (2012)
With others	God Bless Jug and Sonny (Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt, 1973) Left Bank Encores (Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt, 1973) Something for Lester (Ray Brown, 1977) Slow Drag (Donald Byrd, 1967) The Almoravid (Joe Chambers, 1971–73) Somethin's Cookin' (Junior Cook, 1981) Broken Shadows (Ornette Coleman, 1971–72) Katumbo (Dance) (Johnny Coles, 1971) Giant Steps (John Coltrane, 1959) Up, Up and Away (Sonny Criss, 1967) The Beat Goes On! (Sonny Criss, 1968) This Is the Moment! (Kenny Dorham, 1958) Blue Spring (Kenny Dorham & Cannonball Adderley, 1959) It's All Right! (Teddy Edwards, 1967) Soul Trombone (Curtis Fuller, 1961) Smokin' (Curtis Fuller, 1972) Tangerine (Dexter Gordon, 1972) Generation (Dexter Gordon, 1972) Bush Dance (Johnny Griffin, 1978) Roots (Slide Hampton, 1985) The Quota (Jimmy Heath, 1961) Triple Threat (Jimmy Heath, 1962) Mode for Joe (Joe Henderson, 1966) Hub Cap (Freddie Hubbard, 1961) Here to Stay (Freddie Hubbard, 1962) The Body & the Soul (Freddie Hubbard,1963) Bolivia (Freddie Hubbard, 1991) Highway One (Bobby Hutcherson, 1978) Farewell Keystone (Bobby Hutcherson, 1982) Really Livin' (J.J. Johnson, 1959) J.J. Inc. (J.J. Johnson, 1960) Save Your Love for Me (Etta Jones, 1986) Advance! (Philly Joe Jones, 1978) Drum Song (Philly Joe Jones, 1978) Seven Minds (Sam Jones, 1974) Something in Common (Sam Jones, 1974–77) First Class Kloss! (Eric Kloss, 1967) Abbey Is Blue (Abbey Lincoln, 1959) Strings! (Pat Martino, 1967) From This Moment On! (Charles McPherson, 1968) Horizons (Charles McPherson, 1968) Caramba! (Lee Morgan, 1968) The Sixth Sense (Lee Morgan, 1968) The Mode (Sonny Red, 1961) Sonny Red (1971) Setting Standards (Woody Shaw, 1983) For Losers (Archie Shepp, 1968–69) Kwanza (Archie Shepp, 1968–69) Now Is the Time (Idrees Sulieman, 1976) Goodbye Yesterday (Lucky Thompson, 1972) Concert: Friday the 13th – Cook County Jail (Lucky Thompson, 1972) I Offer You (Lucky Thompson, 1973) Another Story (Stanley Turrentine, 1969) Up Front (David Williams, 1986)