By the time these recordings were made, the Canadian pianist (born in 1932) had already performed with Charles Mingus, Jimmy Giuffre and Sonny Rollins. However, these trio recordings would mark the direction he would follow in the future : he relocated to Los Angeles in 1957, where his bookings included a lengthy engagement at the Hillcrest Club with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins and Charlie Haden.