Additional information
Personnel: Bill Evans (piano, electric piano); Eddie Gomez (bass); Eliot Zigmund (drums). Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California on August 23-25, 1977. Originally released on Warner (3504). Includes liner notes by Richard Seidel and Francis Davis. Pianist Bill Evans's first album for Warner Brothers (after more than five years with Fantasy Records) features a title track by Michel Legrand, a French musician and songwriter who influenced Evans with his use of strong melody and sentiment. Evans turns both to his advantage on YOU MUST BELIEVE IN SPRING, managing as usual to avoid all but the merest hint of sentimentality. Evans's original songs, "We Will Meet Again," and "B Minor Waltz," are both subtly influenced by Legrand's ease with melody, and on both tracks Evans comes close to perfecting his ability to connect instantly with his listener. Included as well is an unusually sedate version of a perennial Evans favorite, the theme from M*A*S*H, which he often included in live performances. This final recording with long-time collaborator, bassist Eddie Gomez, was released in 1981, a year after Evans's death.