[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.

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

[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".

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".

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".