Gómez "was beginning to feel pigeonholed as the bass player to Bill Evans, and the pianist himself felt that he was providing a limited setting for Eddie's talents.

"[12] The album also features the Johnny Mandel song "Suicide Is Painless," also known as the theme from the TV show M*A*S*H. Evans had enlisted in the Korean War himself, playing in military bands, and was a devoted fan of the series, sometimes watching it between sets.

Reflecting on this choice of repertoire, Francis Davis commented, "I think what drew Evans to Burt Bacharach, Johnny Mandel, and Michel Legrand was that they were among the few composers of their era still writing more or less in the style of Gershwin and Porter.

"[15] The album's two originals by Evans, "B Minor Waltz" and "We Will Meet Again," are dedicated, respectively, to his common-law wife, Ellaine Schultz, and his brother, Harry, both of whom had taken their own lives.

"[17] Pettinger notes that it had been several years "since Evans had experienced a fertile period of composing, but the trickle begun by 'The Opener'" from his previous album and these two new tunes "presaged a flood that would sustain his imagination to the end.

"[19] Shadwick comments, "Beautifully recorded ... the LP documents a trio completely at ease with each other and allowing the music to flow in the most natural but refined way.

"[20] Reviewer Andrew Cartmel calls it "an album of startling beauty with exemplary, elegant playing in the purity of a trio setting and it displays a flawless choice of material."

"[21] Rhino reissued the album on compact disc in 2003 with three bonus tracks from the same August 1977 sessions added, including a take on the only song from Kind of Blue that Evans did not play on, "Freddie Freeloader."