The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states: "This post bop music (which falls between advanced hard bop and the avant-garde) is well worth several listens".[3] In The Boston Phoenix, Bob Blumenthal focused on cellist Abdul Wadud's playing ("his bowing is clear and mobile as a violinist's, his lines are sweeping and rhapsodic"), but also noted that "there are other rewards as well on Elaborations: Stewart's barrel-chested blowing, Bell's growing assertiveness, Blythe’s invigorating swing".[5]
