The album showcases the musical and compositional abilities of Sonny Rollins, who was Davis' favoured saxophonist at this point in his career. Three of the four tunes were Sonny Rollins originals, and would go on to become regular parts of both Davis' and Rollins' live sets. In his autobiography, Davis says that Rollins was writing the music on scraps of paper in the studio during the recording session. Davis also states the cover of Gershwin's "But Not for Me" was an early example of himself being influenced by the spacing and lyricism of the pianist Ahmad Jamal.[5]
After the 10" LP format was discontinued, all four tracks, along with the alternate take, were included on side 2 of the 12" album Bags' Groove (PRLP 7109).
