JAZZTIMES: “ Take two exceptional San Francisco Bay-area based musicians with exceptional backgrounds—Denny Zeitlin is both a practicing psychiatrist and a world-class jazz pianist; mandolinist David Grisman came out of bluegrass to play with a number of jazz luminaries—and this series of vibrant duets is what you get…spontaneous and unpredictable.”

DOWNBEAT: “On the duet album New River , Grisman and Zeitlin display their considerable chops as well as a strong empathy for one another’s musicianship…[Zeitlin] is particularly adept in the duo format. His playing is both straightforward and adventuresome, providing a solid counterpoint for Grisman’s masterful mandolin work.”

LA WEEKLY: “Mixing bluegrass with strains of swing, modal and Latin jazz, the record serves as a fine showcase of exactly what Zeitlin can bring to the table: not just his open and thoughtful imagination, his encyclopedic knowledge of styles, his rigorous attention to structure and his lovely Bill Evans-like lyricism, but the distinct ability to spontaneously connect with his fellow musicians on the deepest of levels.”

RHYTHM AND NEWS: “…each maestro brings his best, blending their influences—jazz, blues, Dixieland, bluegrass, and Latin swing—into a sparkling and truly invigorating whole. A wonderful disc to live to. “

MUSICBOX-ONLINE.COM: “New River is not only intriguingly adventurous in spirit, but also breathtakingly beautiful as the musicians traverse a wide-sweeping sonic terrain…the chemistry between these two wizards is truly remarkable…surely , it’s not a simple task to find two artists who so easily seem to grasp what the other is doing, and it’s even harder for two artists to get together and relinquish enough of their egos to allow the real magic to happen. But that’s exactly what Grisman and Zeitlin do time and again throughout New River , making this a true collaboration with groundbreaking results.”