Hill wrote all seven compositions on Passing Ships for an ensemble featuring Woody Shaw and Dizzy Reece on trumpet, Julian Priester on trombone, Joe Farrell on saxophones, flute and bass clarinet, Howard Johnson on tuba, Bob Northern on French horn and Ron Carter on bass and Lenny White on drums. Passing Ships stands in comparison to Hill's greatest work and is presented on vinyl for the first time with this Tone Poet edition.

Blue Note Records' Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue series is produced by Joe Harley and features only analogue 180g audiophile vinyl reissues mastered from the original master tape in deluxe gatefold packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI).