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Different Rivers
Album sleeve art for 'Different Rivers' by Trygve Seim.
Studio album by
Trygve Seim
Released9 October 2000
Recorded1998–1999
StudioRainbow Studio, Oslo
GenreJazz, free jazz,[1] chamber jazz[2]
Length55:21
LabelECM Records
ECM 1744
ProducerTrygve Seim, Christian Wallumrød, Øyvind Brække; Manfred Eicher

Different Rivers is an album by Norwegian jazz saxophonist Trygve Seim, released on ECM Records.[3] Released in 2000, Different Rivers was Seim's solo debut for ECM Records and began his long association with the label, as both a leader and sideman.[4]

The album was recorded and produced throughout 1998 and 1999 and, unusually, without the direct production assistance of ECM founder, Manfred Eicher.[5] Instead the album was recorded at one of Eicher's favoured Oslo studios using long-serving ECM audio engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug.[6] Eicher is credited as 'executive producer'.[7]

Different Rivers is noted for establishing Seim's jazz aesthetic, entailing unusual arrangements and instrumentation, as well as infusing classical and Eastern influences.[8][6]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Jazz Journal[3]
The Guardian[1]

Warmly received by many jazz critics upon release,[1][8] Different Rivers won the German Record Critics Prize, "Jahrespreis – Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik" in 2001[2][9][4] and is frequently considered a landmark album in ECM's recording catalogue.[10][11][1]

In a 5-star review for The Guardian, John Fordham wrote that Different Rivers was "destined to become one of ECM's classics", describing the album as falling into the free jazz idiom while revealing Seim to be an "up-tempo Wayne Shorter playing Ben Webster".[1] Jazz musician and author, Mike Zwerin, was similarly enthused by the album. Writing in The New York Times he declared Different Rivers to be both melancholic and hypnotizing, describing the listening experience as "like a fireplace in an ice palace, you get hooked on it; it's almost physical".[8]

Seim's impressionistic jazz aesthetic was not universally appreciated, with Jazz Times describing Different Rivers more negatively, as "new-age jazz, mostly composed, with ultraslow tempos and almost immobile lines".[12] Different Rivers nevertheless continues to attract positive jazz criticism. In revisiting the album's ECM Touchstone Series re-release, the Jazz Journal described Different Rivers as "...a masterclass in precision and control ... a most remarkable achievement".[3]

The landmark album status of Different Rivers was celebrated in 2010 when Seim's composition, 'Ulrikas Dans', was selected for inclusion on Arild Andersen's Celebration album, alongside those of seminal ECM artists, including Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Dave Holland, and Chick Corea.[13] Recorded with Tommy Smith and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, Celebrations was devised as a contribution to ECM's 40th anniversary celebrations.[14][15] Different Rivers was later one of 25 ECM albums selected for re-release under the 'Touchstone Series', to celebrate the label's 50th anniversary.[16]

Track listing

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All tracks composed Trygve Seim.

  1. "Sorrows" - 6:27
  2. "Ulrikas Dans" - 7:49
  3. "Intangible Waltz" - 5:47
  4. "Different Rivers" - 5:51
  5. "Bhavana" - 4:23
  6. "The Aftermath/African Sunrise" - 6:16
  7. "Search Silence" - 0:50
  8. "For Edward" - 5:33
  9. "Breathe" - 9:19
  10. "Between" - 2:18

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Fordham, John (2000). "He did it Norway; John Fordham hails a master of tantric sax". The Guardian. No. Friday 15 December. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Different Rivers - Trygve Seim". ECM Records. ecmrecords.com. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Adams, Simon (2019). "Trygve Seim: Different Rivers". Jazz Journal. No. 8 August. Jazz Journal. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  4. ^ a b Kjell Kalleklev Management AS. "Trygve Seim". Kjell Kalleklev Management AS. Kjell Kalleklev Management AS. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  5. ^ Grillo, Tyran (2013). "Trygve Seim: Different Rivers (ECM 1744)". Between Sound and Space: ECM Records and Beyond. No. August 13. Between Sound and Space: ECM Records and Beyond. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b Kelman, John (2005). "Trygve Seim: Innovative Vanguard Of A New Wave". AllAboutJazz. No. March 15. AllAboutJazz & Jazz Near You. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Trygve Seim – Different Rivers". Discogs. Discogs. 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Zwerin, Mike (2001). "Trygve Seim's Improvisations : A Norwegian Gazes East". The New York Times. No. March 28. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  9. ^ Seim, Trygve (2016). "Trygve Seim: musician & composer". Trygve Seim. trygveseim.com. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  10. ^ Waring, Charles (2022). "Best ECM Albums: 50 Must-Hear Classics From The Legendary Jazz Label". uDiscover Music. No. November 24. uDiscover Music. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  11. ^ McCooey, David (2020). "Simplicity and quiet: my isolation playlist from ECM Records". The Conversation. No. August 05. The Conversation Trust (UK) Limited. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  12. ^ Litweiler, John (2001). "Trygve Seim: Different Rivers". Jazz Times. No. November 01. Madavor Media, LLC. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  13. ^ Grillo, Tyran (2013). "Arild Andersen: Celebration (ECM 2259)". Between Sound and Space: ECM Records and Beyond. No. July 21. Between Sound and Space: ECM Records and Beyond. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  14. ^ Bevan, Peter (2012). "Arild Andersen, Tommy Smith & Scottish National Jazz Orchestra/Celebration (ECM 279 0947)". The Northern Echo. No. 19 July. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  15. ^ Adams, Rob (2012). "Arild Andersen/Tommy Smith & Scottish National Jazz Orchestra: Celebration (ECM)". The Herald. No. 8 July. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  16. ^ "ECM Records – 25 neue "Touchstones" zum Sonderpreis". Jazz Echo. No. 16 May. Jazz Echo. 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
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