[10] John Fordham of The Guardian stated: "or his octave-vaulting lines and incandescent high-end tones, 28-year-old California-born trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire suggests connections with Norwegian ambient-brass virtuoso Arve Henriksen.

Akinmusire honed his craft with sax trailblazer Steve Coleman, and this music echoes that, and also the work of the album's producer, Jason Moran...

Passages of minimally accompanied trumpet are masterpieces of patient development, as is the ensemble ballad Henya, with its deliberate, slow-blown dissonance in an otherwise mellifluous theme.

Akinmusire's empathy with tenorist Smith gives an updated Miles Davis/Wayne Shorter atmosphere to jolting faster pieces such as 'Jaya', and the bass and drums pairing nails everything with steely relish.

"[11] Will Layman of PopMatters observed: "Kudos to Blue Note president Bruce Lundvall for getting Ambrose Akinmusire and his band into the studio.