Lester Leaps In
Lester Leaps In is a jazz title of Lester Young. The on the harmonies of George Gershwin's I Got Rhythm (1930 ) based composition took the tenor saxophonist for the first time on 5 September 1939, the Kansas City Seven on. It was and Lester Young's theme song is to be regarded now as a jazz standard.
Origin and first recording
Young Lester Leaps In built on Gershwin's classic I Got Rhythm on, which was the basis for a number of jazz standards and issues, including by Chu Berry and Charlie Parker. The saxophonist heard numerous cover versions in the early 1930s at the time when he developed his own personal style. He lay on the harmonies of Gershwin songs is a loop- like repetitive melody, which consists of " a downright simple rhythm and blues or jump- reef " and was played up tempo.
The thematic motif of Lester Leaps In, which includes 32 bars and has the song form AABA, Lester Young, built in 1937 at the beginning of a solo in Shout and Feel It with the Count Basie Orchestra ein.ref > Recording of Shout and Feel It with the Count Basie Orchestra was a radio recording from the Savoy Ballroom, New York on June 30, 1937 See Tom Lord. Jazz Discography online ( accessed September 21, 2013 ) the first recording of the song took place on September 5, 1939 Vocalion in septet under the band name of Count Basie 's Kansas City Seven instead, which, alongside Lester Young Buck Clayton (trumpet ), Dicky Wells ( trombone), Count Basie ( piano ), Freddie Green (guitar ), Walter Page ( bass) and Jo Jones ( drums) belonged. He even played two choruses, which are dramatized by a stop -time arrangement; then switch Basie and he does all four strokes off.
Reception
After the first recording of Lester Leaps In wrote the down-beat - author of " Barrelhouse Dan ," Young play " the most unusual and mitreißendste tenor, he has been shown to disk. "
In his book, A New History of Jazz Alyn Shipton said:
The Young's biographer Douglas Henry Daniels wrote about the song and the original version:
Citation of the subject
Lester Young built during his performances the subject of Lester Leaps In more titles in one, so in the beginning of his solos in Exactly Like You, also in Poundcake, Blues in C, Lavender Blue and Lester's European Blues. Other musicians have followed suit, such as Sweets Edison in the Basie Recording Easy Does It (Columbia, 1940).
In later years proved numerous musicians with the quote Lester Young their reference, Gene Ammons in Woofin 'and Tweetin ' and in his own composition Juggernaut. Dexter Gordon, " Pres " admired, did so in 1952 at the beginning of his solos in The Steeple Chase, as Wardell Gray in Jackie ( 1952 Hampton Hawes ) and Sonny Stitt at the end of PS I Love You ( Prestige, 1951). The percussionist Patato Valdez took the same rhythms in his Yo Tengo Titmo.
Other recordings
Lester Leaps In 1946, Young played a second time, this time with his own quintet. He remained first on the root, which he exposed a rhythmic staccato. "His vibrato -less tone is of a permeability and brittle elegance that has impressed and influenced many cool musicians. " He took his showpiece continue on, inter alia, with Nat King Cole, Jesse Drake and John Lewis, most recently with the Basie band at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957.
Young's " phenomenal recordings and the handy topic " made the piece " for decades as the vehicle for countless improvisers of jazz. " Here, the spectrum ranges from " impish - permeable Piano Trio of Nat King Cole to wise serenity of a Von Freeman. " Basie retained the song constantly in the repertoire of his band and took him until 1982 on several occasions. As early as 1949 used Young, Charlie Parker and Flip Phillips, the piece in order to measure it in a session at Jazz at the Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall forces, which also served later as a vehicle for rapid improvisations. Parker, Lester Leaps In never grossed in the studio, using the subject in 1952 in the Rockland Palace (Bird Is Free ) for one of his most exciting and fastest solos. In the same manner used Johnny Griffin and Eddie Lockjaw Davis the subject in 1984 with a saxophone battle in Jazzhus Montmartre and Houston Person and Teddy Edwards in 1994.
Gil Evans built with the subject in 1958 in New Bottle, Old Wine a template for Cannonball Adderley. Eddie Lockjaw Davis took Lester Leaps In 1959, the saxophone ensemble Very Sax other recordings from the 1950s are from Harry Babasin / Red Norvo, Earl Bostic, Don Byas, Kurt Edelhagen, Slide Hampton, Budd Johnson, Quincy Jones, Lee Konitz, Erwin Lehn, Oscar Peterson, Gérard "Dave" Pochonet, Ronnie Scott, Tony Scott and Clark Terry.
The saxophone quartet Roots took the piece twice, in 1992 and 1995. James Carter combined it in 1995 (together with Harry Sweets Edison ) with the wedding march from Lohengrin. In the years after 2000 also made recordings of Monty Alexander, Wycliffe Gordon, Bucky Pizzarelli, Scott Hamilton, Johnny Frigo, Ray Brown and Harry Allen. The disco Count Tom Lord lists 290 versions of the title.
Text version
The vocalese pioneer Eddie Jefferson wrote lyrics for a Lester Leaps In and called him I Got the Blues; he took him from 1952 several times - even with James Moody ( 1955). Ella Fitzgerald came in 1957 with a scat version of the title on. Last 2008 Virginie Teychene has recorded this version of the Young- piece.
Appreciation
According to Young's biographer Douglas Daniel Lester Leaps In "is not only the hallmark of Lester Young and a standard of the swing era; he is also a typical example of the exchange that took place between the traditions of jazz and popular music, both mutually influenced each in a continuous cycle of ( re) appropriation of what constitutes the core of the African-American culture. In other words, the regenerated African American Swing style, renewed and edited rhythmic motives and Pentatonic and the Russian-American composer Gershwin had borrowed. "