This recording was made during a performance at The Newport Jazz Festival of 1958. It is evident from the applause that Ray Charles was well-received. But strangely enough, a large part of the audience had probably never heard him before. This is because the phenomenal acclaim he has received in the jazz world has all been within the space of less than one year. In November of 1957, Atlantic released his first jazz LP and I presented him to a jazz audience at Carnegie Hall. It was the first time Ray appeared before a jazz audience and since his previous recordings were geared for the rhythm and blues audience, the Carnegie patrons did not know what to expect. Ray Charles gave himself completely to that audience and they embraced him with a warmth seldom felt in any concert hall. (...) From the original liner notes.