Paper Moon was recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet at Coast Recorders in San Francisco, California. The record was released in September 1981 by Concord Jazz, a subsidiary of Concord Records. It was produced by Russell Gloyd and engineered by Ron Davis and Phil Edwards. On this recording, pianist Dave Brubeck is accompanied by his son Chris Brubeck on the bass and bass trombone, with Jerry Bergonzi on tenor sax and Randy Jones on the drums. Paper Moon is Brubeck's third of three Concord recordings featuring this permutation of the Dave Brubeck Quartet; jazz commentator Scott Yanow referred to the album as the "most rewarding of the trio".