The album was commercially successful, becoming one of the best-selling jazz instrumental albums of the 2000s, and winning a number of awards. "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" was nominated for the
2001 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. The critical reception was more mixed, however, with some critics praising its intimacy, while others criticized its simplicity. On the negative side, the
AllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 2½ stars (out of 5) and states, "these performances lack color, contrast and life; and while you pull for Jarrett to summon the energy to make music again, the results are touching for a while but soon pall." On the positive side, it was ranked the No. 2 Jazz album in the
DownBeat "Critics Poll 2000", and
Entertainment Weekly rated it an
A. The authors of
The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 4 stars, calling it "a record of fragile magnificence, a sequence of filigreed songs from a common musical past... It is a quite simply magnificent record, swinging in a way that Jarrett has rarely before been swinging... and sweetly melodic." Writing for DownBeat, John Ephland commented: "the playing on this solo-piano recording is subdued, but does not lack for earnestness, passion or focus. The music is exquisite, unnerving and disarming, as the virtuoso bypasses flourish, instead choosing to speak plainly." == Track listing ==