The music on the album was recorded during a concert at Carnegie Hall on February 8, 1947.[1] The music features trumpeter Louis Armstrong playing with a small group – clarinettist Edmond Hall, trumpeter "Mousie" Randolph, trombonist Henderson Chambers, pianist Ellis Larkins, bassist Johnny Williams, and drummer Jimmy Crawford – thus making it Armstrong's "first major appearance in front of a small group in close to two decades".[1]
"Clearly, it was inspirational for Armstrong at the time: by the end of 1947, he dissolved his big band and formed his own combo, also called the All-Stars, and adapted most of these songs into their repertoire."[1]
The AllMusic reviewer wrote that, "While the sound quality of this disc is unfortunately primitive, the historical import of the performances overshadows the technical problems."[1]
