Miles Smiles received critical acclaim in 1967, CODA editor John Norris praised the quintet's "mastery of sensitive interaction" and wrote that they "must be one of the most beautifully integrated groups ever to play jazz". Nat Hentoff of Stereo Review called Tony Williams and Ron Carter "prodigious technicians and restless", while noting "Though tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter does not quite reach the incandescent performance level attained by his colleagues, he is inspired by them to deliver some of his most inventive playing on records so far." Hentoff cited the quintet as Davis' "most stimulating rhythm team so far" and concluded with a discourse on its potential significance, writing that: