Lester Leaps In
1939 single by Count Basie's Kansas City Seven
"Lester Leaps In" is a jazz standard originally recorded by Count Basie's Kansas City Seven in 1939. 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".
01Critical acclaim
- "Lester Leaps In" is listed among the Milestone Recordings in American Music at the Three Perfect Minutes site.
- jazz.com gives "Lester Leaps In" a 98, on a scale of 100 , "Classic performance. A 'must have' for jazz fans."
02Personnel (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
03Other recordings
In 1960 Harry James released a version on his album Harry James...Today (MGM E-3848).
Charlie Watts Orchestra, 1986, Live at Fulham Town Hall
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Lester Leaps In”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.