Five of Los Angeles' best musicians of 1960, all veterans of the cool jazz scene, are featured on this CD reissue. While the solos are excellent, trumpeter
Conte Candoli's six originals (two co-written with pianist
Vince Guaraldi) are not particularly memorable. Their chord structures are comfortable for the musicians but none of the melodies will be remembered after the CD ends. Another minus is the brief playing time (under 29 minutes) which makes one wish that the music (originally on a long out of print Crown LP) had been combined with another complementary set. What is here is fine but overall
Little Band, Big Jazz, despite the fine playing of
Candoli,
Guaraldi, tenor saxophonist
Buddy Collette, bassist
Leroy Vinnegar, and drummer
Stan Levey, falls short of being essential.