Personnel:
Art Farmer (tp), Benny Golson (ts), Tom McIntosh (tb), Cedar Walton (p), Tommy Williams (b), Albert 'Tootie' Heath (d)
Reference: FSRCD 1653
Bar code: 8427328616539
Since its inception in 1959, the Jazztet went straight up in critical acceptance and general popularity. In this, their second album, the entire personnel was reshuffled, and only the leaders remained: Art Farmer and Benny Golson.
None of the changes were for the worse, judging by the present evidence. Most of the groups value lies in the virtues of its soloists, but their presentation in a skillfully planned settingrather than in rambling ad lib excursions of arbitrary lengthwas an added plus factor of its success.
"This 1960 Argo session from the Jazztet, featuring tenor saxophonist Benny Golson and trumpeter Art Farmer, is a swinging, straight-ahead date. The follow-up to the ensemble's debut, 1960's "Meet the Jazztet," "Big City Sounds" includes the midtempo groover "The Cool One," which echoes Golson's previous hit, "Killer Joe."
—Matt Collar (All Music Guide)
