The date of this set is uncertain. The Davis Quintet performed at the Village Gate many times in 1969: April 25-26; May 23-24; July 29-August 10; December 12-13 and 19-20). Although this session is sometimes dated from May-June, the presence of "This" among the tunes suggests a later date. The tune was recorded by Corea, Holland, and De Johnette in May for release on Corea's Is (Solid State SS 18055). But the only other live performances of the tune by Davis-led groups besides this one and an uncertainly-dated recording from the Blue Coronet Club are from late 1969 and early 1970. So it seems likely that this recording is from a mid-December engagement at the Village Gate.

In addition to several studio sessions with larger ensembles, Davis' Quintet was on the road in the eastern U.S. and Canada in the closing months of 1969: Colonial Tavern, Toronto (December 1-6 -- Sonny Greenwich sat in on several nights; as he said in an interview in Coda magazine, "I would play some nights and some nights I wouldn't -- it was up to him"); Village Gate, New York (December 12-13, 19-20, January 2-3, 6-10); Cellar Door, Washington (January 12-17); Spectrum, Philadelphia (January 18).