Hot Stuff (Barbara Dennerlein album)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
All Music Guide to Jazz	[13]
Calgary Herald	C[14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide	[5]
Omaha World-Herald	[15]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD	[6]
The Windsor Star	A[7]

The Salt Lake Tribune stated, "Synthesizer is also Dennerlein's province, creating an airy ambience to highlight not only the driving organ lines but also the Pat Metheny-like guitar touches, some hard-bop sax work and crackling drum rhythms."^[12] The Calgary Herald opined that Dennerlein "has speed and energy to burn, which makes for a certain excitement in her playing... But the overall effect is one of restless boredom."^[14] The Edmonton Journal noted that the music "is more apt to remind you of Jan Hammer's work with John Abercrombie and others than anything from organ great Jimmy Smith, though the straight-forward approach elicits some swinging steps".^[11]

The Windsor Star said that the musicians "contribute equal shares of finesse and excitement, with a European flavor at times similar to ECM recording quality and style."^[7] The Globe and Mail concluded that "Dennerlein's compositions tend to be rather convoluted and awkward in their structuring —the Keith Emerson syndrome, perhaps—but they get her away from the old B-3 grind."^[16] Of the title track, the Los Angeles Times said that Dennerlein "pumps out extraordinary effects, achieving a new level of dynamic and tonal variety."^[10]