 Though expressing a "niggling complaint" in that Kroll's piping soprano saxophone "can land the quirky group sound back in overly familiar ECM territory," he nonetheless felt the combinations of the other instruments were imaginative and help distinguish the project from other jazz albums.He also felt that Favre's "lean toward scrupulous craft" was perhaps emblematic of his Swiss background.Barry Witherden of "BBC Music Magazine" called "Fleuve" one of Favre's "most captivating albums" and wrote that "it is the agreeable melodies and the ingenious, fresh and attractive voicings that distinguish the session."