As Miles’ star rose at Prestige, so he was able to take on a de facto A&R role, urging his label to record younger players, and even offering to record with them (as Miles would do with Cannonball Adderley on his 1959 Blue Note album Somethin’ Else). In the summer of 1954, it was Sonny Rollins’ turn—he was Miles’ preferred saxophonist at this time, and he had tunes that Miles liked—“Airegin,” “Oleo” and “Doxy”—and Prestige had already taken the step of giving him top-billing back in 1951.

Though Rollins was still putting together some of his tunes at the session, Miles Davis With Sonny Rollins furthered the young saxophonist’s rise as a jazz soloist and composer on a par with top stars like Miles. The ballad—a relaxed take on Gershwin’s “But Not For Me”—came to Miles by way of his increasing infatuation with pianist Ahmad Jamal’s song choices and melodic sparsity.