The alto sax "bop" legend heard here at his best.

Rollins started as a pianist, then changed to alto saxophone, finally switching to tenor in 1946. He was first recorded in 1949 with Babs Gonzalez; in the same year he recorded with J. J. Johnson and Bud Powell. In 1950, Rollins was arrested for armed robbery, given a sentence of three years, spending 10 months in Rikers Island before he was released on parole. He was rearrested in 1952 for violating the terms of his parole by using heroin. Rollins however, attended an institution in Lexington for drug addicts, which administered dolophine, allowing him to kick his habit entirely. Rollins had begun to make a name for himself as he recorded with Miles Davis in 1951 and Thelonious Monk in 1953.

Rollins joined the Clifford Brown–Max Roach quintet in 1955, and after Brown's death in 1956 worked mainly as a leader.