The original sessions were supervised by Leonard Joy, Eli Oberstein, Steve Sholes and Harry Meyerson.

While the original six-LP box set correctly reissued all of Lionel Hampton's 1937-41 small-group recordings as a leader, the CD reissue program has been rather erratic, dividing up some of these selections in almost random fashion between three CDs, often splitting up sessions between a pair of discs. The first of these three CDs is the strongest, highlighted by "On the Sunny Side of the Street" (featuring altoist Johnny Hodges), "I'm Confessin'" with trumpeter Jonah Jones, and the four master takes from a date with Coleman Hawkins, Chu Berry, Ben Webster, Benny Carter and a young Dizzy Gillespie.