His 1945 original version of Harlem Nocturne is well worth listening to. Just fire it up and close your eyes, and you can practically see a black & white film noir private dick movie...pretty cool, and a great example of music that captures the idiom of a time period.
With all due respect, Johnny Otis didn't write Harlem Nocturne. He was one of many who covered it.Earle Hagen wrote it. He was better known in the industry for writing theme songs for TV.