"A Swingin' Affair" was recorded two days after Dexter Gordon's classic album "Go" in 1962 with the same quartet consisting of Sonny Clark on piano, Butch Warren on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. The songs include three originals and three standards, giving Gordon lots of room for his brand of melodic musical improvisation.

"Candy" was recorded by Lee Morgan in 1958 and was produced by Alfred Lion. Recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, NJ, the album features performances by Morgan, Sonny Clark, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor.

This 1958 release marks a period in Lou Donaldson's development prior to a stylistic shift away from bop and toward a stronger rhythm and blues emphasis. Three uptempo tunes here are pure bebop; the remaining number is a medium blues piece, quite characteristic of the hard bop period. The front line on this set includes Donald Byrd and Curtis Fuller with the rhythm section of Sonny Clark, George Joyner and Art Taylor.

Sonny Rollins made his debut for the Riverside label with this album, recorded and released in 1957, the same year he was named New Star of the tenor saxophone by the critics of DownBeat. Rollins is surrounded by top names, including pianist Sonny Clark, bassists Percy Heath and Paul Chambers and drummer Roy Haynes on a programme of covers and standards, with one original Rollins song.

Sonny Rollins made his debut for the Riverside label with this album, recorded and released in 1957, the same year he was named New Star of the tenor saxophone by the critics of DownBeat. Rollins is surrounded by top names, including pianist Sonny Clark, bassists Percy Heath and Paul Chambers and drummer Roy Haynes on a programme of covers and standards, with one original Rollins song.

Jackie's Bag is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1959 and 1960 and released in June 1961 by Blue Note. The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "the music on Jackie's Bag finds McLean in a staunchly hard bop mode, with occasional hints of adventurousness".

"Leapin' and Lopin’" was jazz pianist Sonny Clark's Blue Note release. The record was Clark's last as a leader and one of his final albums before his premature death. This album is considered an ultimate recording by the hard bop enthusiast, one that continues to be influential in mainstream jazz.

"Cool Struttin’" is a 1958 album by jazz pianist Sonny Clark. Described as an "enduring hard-bop classic" by The New York Times, the album features alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, trumpeter Art Farmer and two members of the Miles Davis Quintet, drummer Philly Joe Jones and bassist Paul Chambers. According to The Stereo Times, the album enjoys "a nearly cult status among hardcore jazz followers", a reputation AllMusic asserts it deserves "for its soul appeal alone".

The influence of Charlie Parker can be heard in virtually every modern jazz musician, particularly players of the alto saxophone. Although considered to be one of "Bird's Children", Lou Donaldson absorbed and synthesized other pre-Parker influences, such as Johnny Hodges and Benny Carter. This recording marks a period in his development prior to a stylistic shift away from bop and toward a stronger rhythm and blues emphasis.

Ike Quebec's timeless, big-toned tenor was a frequent visitor to Rudy Van Gelder's studio in the early sixties. But this session from December 1961 with spare, soulful backing from Grant Green, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones is his masterpiece. The leaner setting works perfectly, evoking an aura of relaxation and monumentality, with the deepest blue of accents.

One of Frank Rosolino's first sessions as a bandleader, "I Play Trombone" was released in 1956 and the title left no doubt about the instrument on which he built his career and legendary reputation. An alumni of both Gene Krupa and Stan Kenton's orchestras, Rosolino moved to Los Angeles in the mid 1950s where he was kept very busy playing on albums by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Qunicy Jones and Mel Tormé, among many others, but he also kept up a solo recording career.

Drummer Stan Levey came to epitomize the sound of "cool school" West Coast jazz. He was one of the pioneers of bebop but relocated to the West Coast where he played on thousands of sessions, many for television and film soundtracks, and backed up all the greats.

"With the single exception of Kind of Blue, Sonny Clark's Cool Struttin' is almost certainly the coolest jazz album of all time" — 100 Greatest Jazz Albums.

Pianist Sonny Clark reached the peak of his short career with 1958's “Cool Struttin'” but each date he led on Blue Note is now considered a classic. Though commercial success always eluded him, he was in demand as a sideman and played dozens of dates, including Tina Brooks's "Minor Move". Luckily, Clark's contribution is well documented on record; he has achieved far more critical, musical, and popular acclaim than he ever did in life. On this recording Clark is joined by Jackie McLean on alto saxophone, Art Farmer on trumpet, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums.

This digital compilation by German Nagel Heyer Records features the tracks previously released as "Jimmy Raney & Sonny Clark ‎Together" (LP '1954), "Cliff Jordan - Cliff Craft" (LP '1957) and live jam sessions at Basel, Switzerland on February 4, 1954.