After a string of two dozen brilliant albums beginning in the 1950's, clarinetist, saxophonist, flutist, composer and arranger Jimmy Giuffre stopped recording - For nearly ten years he focused solely on live performance - This album, Music for People, Birds, Butterflies and Mosquitoes, marked his return to the studio after his self imposed hiatus. Known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, Giuffre began his career as an arranger for Woody Herman's big band in the late 1940s. Playing primarily saxophone, he became a central figure in the West Coast cool jazz scene of the 1950's, with the Lighthouse All Stars in Hermosa Beach, CA. In the late 50's, he began working within different configurations of the trio format, on what he called "blues-based folk jazz." A prime example being his piece "The Train and the River" famously featured in 1958 Newport Jazz Festival concert film, Jazz On A Summer's Day.

The Sound of Jazz brought together 32 leading musicians - a Who's Who of the swing era - including Count Basie, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Billie Holiday, Jo Jones and Coleman Hawkins; the Chicago style players of the same era, like Henry "Red" Allen, Vic Dickenson, and Pee Wee Russell; and younger 'modernist' musicians such as Gerry Mulligan, Thelonious Monk, and Jimmy Giuffre. These players played separately with their compatriots, but also joined to combine various styles in one group, such as Red Allen's group and the group backing Billie Holiday on "Fine and Mellow". This program was originally presented by "The Seven Lively Arts" on December 8, 1957 over CBS Television Sunday. This session is different music from the broadcast, as it was recorded for release by Columbia Records.

West Coast jazz trumpeter Stu Williamson recorded this album in Los Angeles in 1956 with some of the best studio musicians of the day. He is accompanied on different tracks by a young Charlie Mariano on alto sax, Bill Holman on tenor sax and Mel Lewis on drums, while older brother Claude Williamson plays piano throughout the session.