It is inspired by his six-month stay in Camarillo State Hospital in Ventura County, California, after serving a prison term for arson and resisting arrest.
In several Bird Flight broadcasts, Phil Schaap has suggested that Russell may have insisted on the title in analogy to a recording by Muggsy Spanier called “Relaxin’ at the Touro” (Spanier-Bushkin, 1939), which referred to [Spanier's] recovery from alcoholism at a hospital in New Orleans.
Parker recorded the tune with McGhee on trumpet, Dodo Marmarosa on piano, Wardell Gray on tenor, Barney Kessell on guitar, Red Callender on bass and Don Lamond on drums.
[6] Roy Porter and David Keller consider "Relaxin' at Camarillo" to be a "great bop classic".
Jazz Journal International stated in 2009 that Walton "provides a stimulating introduction to Parker's Relaxin' At Camarillo.