Stan is in the tradition of the players. He has not contributed a body of music—either written or unit-deep—as have John Lewis, on the one hand, and Gerry Mulligan, on the other.
He has contributed a style and can nearly always be depended on to stimulate a listener’s imagination (…) with a demonstration that the art of improvisation still flares and challenges and excites.”
– Nat Hentoff, Jazz author and critic