Lester Leaps In

"Lester Leaps In"
Single by Count Basie's Kansas City Seven
Released	1939
Recorded	September 5, 1939, New York City, NY
Genre	Jazz
Length	3:12
Label	Vocalion 5118
Songwriter(s)	Lester Young

"Lester Leaps In" is a jazz standard originally recorded by Count Basie's Kansas City Seven in 1939. ^[1] The composition, credited to the group's tenor saxophone player Lester Young, is a contrafact based on the chord progression of "I Got Rhythm", and serves as a vehicle for interweaving solos by Young and Basie.

Eddie Jefferson, pioneer of vocalese, wrote lyrics for the composition, calling his version "I Got the Blues". ^[2]

Critical acclaim

• "Lester Leaps In" is listed among the Milestone Recordings in American Music at the Three Perfect Minutes site. ^[3]
• jazz.com gives "Lester Leaps In" a 98, on a scale of 100 – "Classic performance. A 'must have' for jazz fans." ^[4]

Personnel (original 1939 recording)

• Count Basie - piano
• Lester Young - tenor saxophone
• Buck Clayton - trumpet
• Dicky Wells - trombone
• Freddie Green - guitar
• Walter Page - bass
• Jo Jones - drums

Other recordings

In 1960 Harry James released a version on his album Harry James...Today (MGM E-3848).

References

1. Brian Rust, Jazz and Ragtime Records, 1897-1942 Archived 2009-02-09 at the Wayback Machine , Mainspring Press, 2008.
2. "Lester Leaps In (1940)", JazzStandards.com.
3. "Lester Leaps In (1939)", at Three Perfect Minutes, retrieved 2013-10-23.
4. Lester Leaps In (1939) Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine , at jazz.com Archived November 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine , retrieved 2013-10-23.