John Lewis: Three Little Feelings

This track both connects and disconnects Birth of the Cool and Third Stream. BOTC holdovers include Miles, J.J., Barber, Lewis and Schuller. But whereas BOTC was an arrangers/improvisers band, Third Stream is a composers/soloists orchestraeven, as here, sans strings. "Three Little Feelings" beefs up the brass, but don't expect Kentonesque overkill from John Lewis, who always understood that a well-placed arrow is just as effective as cannon fire, and far more economical. Miles and J.J. solo sensitively, yet the ultimate triumph is composer Lewis's ability to avoid bombast and reveal the luxuriant beauty of 17 brass instruments.