[4] It was recorded monophonically on June 22, 1956, with producer Bob Weinstock and engineer Rudy Van Gelder at the latter's studio in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Rollins led a quartet on the album that included pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Max Roach.

Saxophone Colossus was released by Prestige Records to critical success and helped establish Rollins as a prominent jazz artist.

[5] In 2016, Saxophone Colossus was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

A CD version, mastered by Steve Hoffman, was released in May 1995 by DCC Compact Classics; no additional performances were included.

[9]In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Scott Yanow called Saxophone Colossus "arguably his finest all-around set",[7] while German musicologist Peter Niklas Wilson deemed it "another milestone of the Rollins discography, a recording repeatedly cited as Rollins' chef d'oeuvre, and one of the classic jazz albums of all time".