On May 14 and 15, 1957, Thelonious Monk sat in with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers to record a one-off album for Atlantic Records; Monk's lone appearance on the label. It was also his only recording with the Jazz Messengers, an ever-evolving collective led by drummer Art Blakey, who's joined on the album by Johnny Griffin on tenor saxophone, Bill Hardman on trumpet, and bassist Spanky DeBrest.

Monk and Blakey frequently recorded together in the decade leading up to the 1957 sessions produced by Nesuhi Ertegun and recorded at Capitol Studios in New York. That bond makes the album a true meeting of the minds, a beautiful union of Monk's melodies with Blakey's unshakable sense of swing on stellar versions of Monk originals like "In Walked Bud" "I Mean You," and "Blue Monk."