At the time of the "Tenor Madness" session, Rollins was a member of the Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet, and two months before the session, he had recorded as a leader the LP "Sonny Rollins Plus 4" with the fellow members of that group. Two weeks before the "Tenor Madness" session, Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, recorded material with Davis for Prestige Records that would be later released on the albums "Workin, "Relaxin, and "Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet".