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This early CD sampler of John Coltrane's Impulse years gives the personnel listing but leaves off the recording dates. All of the music ("Soul Eyes," "Song of the Underground Railroad," "Dear Lord," "Vilia," "India," "Spiritual" and "Big Nick") has been reissued again on CD, making this set of greatest interest to those listeners just beginning to explore the music of the great saxophonist; the emphasis here is the more melodic and conservative performances, although several classics are included. "Vilia" (which was originally released on an LP sampler) was formerly the rarest selection.

These sessions were recorded for Blue Note in 1961 and 1963. The first date features five cuts with Jack Mcduff on organ, Grant Green on guitar, and Joe Dukes on drums. The four remaining cuts were recorded two years later with John Patton on organ, Ben Dixon on drums, and the addition of Irvin Stokes on trumpet. This is a mainly mellow affair with six of the nine tracks exchanging the hard bop and soul-jazz of the times for ballads and slow blues. However, the occasional up-tempo funky surprise does pop up on "My Melancholy Baby" and the Donaldson originals "Hipty Hop" and "Soul Meetin'."

The third of Oscar Peterson's five duet albums with great trumpeters (the other encounters feature Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Clark Terry, and Jon Faddis) teams the masterful pianist with the great swing stylist Harry "Sweets" Edison. The trumpeter, who uses repetition to great degree and had pared his style down to a relatively few notes, matches well with the virtuosic Peterson on these seven standards and their two simple originals, "Basie" and "Signify." Together Edison and O.P. give the impression that their chance-taking improvisations are completely logical and a lot easier to play than they really are.