Burak Bedikyan is a former classical pianist from Turkey who turned to jazz in 1996. For this set he enlisted a high-class US lineup: saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Bill Stewart, who perform with characteristically inventive energy and involvement. Bedikyan's background might have steered this album toward a world-jazz agenda, and some east-west connections do feature, but it begins in an unabashedly American-bebop mood, with the opening First Steps a genuflection to Thelonious Monk, and a later tribute to the Tommy Flanagan reflecting much of his glossily offhand relaxation. There's also a respectful exploration of the Beatles' Here, There and Everywhere, though it's more memorable for Washington's pushing countermelodies and Stewart's snare-drum bustle than the leader's personal vision. Circle of Life rather uneasily straddles conventional and original agendas, but the pianist sounds at his most incisive and intense on freer episodes – like the first part of Prayer for Forgiveness, in which he and Chris Potter vehemently skip, dance and dart around each other. This is an interesting overture for the Turkish newcomer, but it sounds like there's much more in reserve. (John Fordham, The Guardian, 2013)