Guitarist Kenny Burrell recorded this session in 1962 with guest Coleman Hawkins sitting in on tenor sax on half the songs, the third time they recorded together. Pianist Tommy Flanagan is among the stellar musicians who worked with Burrell on this collection of songs that have been called "sad, contemplative and at times gentle" by All About Jazz.

Midnight Blue is a 1963 album by Jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell featuring Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone, Major Holley on double bass, Bill English on drums and Ray Barretto on conga, and is one of Burrell’s best-known works for Blue Note. Jazz Improv Magazine lists the album among its top five recommended recordings for Burrell, indicating that “f you need to know ‘the Blue Note sound’, here it is”. In 2005, NPR included the album in its "Basic Jazz Library", describing it as "one of the great jazzy blues records".