“Lester Leaps In” is a composition by tenor saxophonist Lester Young, recorded in 1939 with a small group from Count Basie’s band. It’s a rhythm changes tune built on a simple riff, and Young’s relaxed, swinging solo is one of the most influential in jazz history.
The form is a 32-bar AABA in Bb, using rhythm changes. The A sections cycle through the I-vi-ii-V progression, and the bridge uses the chain of dominants around the circle of fifths. The head is a short riff.
Section by section: in the A sections, use Bb major pentatonic and relaxed riffs, the way Young did. On the bridge, use the guide-tone line of the dominant chords’ thirds. Young’s style is smooth, light and lyrical, avoiding heavy vibrato, a contrast to the more robust tenor style of Coleman Hawkins.
Practice at medium-up swing. Transcribe a few bars of Young’s solo.
Transposing tip: Bb instruments read it in C, Eb instruments in G.
Arrangement idea: play the riff head in unison, then trade solos with short riff backgrounds from the other horns, a classic Basie-style touch.
Ear training with the Lester Leaps in Lead Sheet PDF: before reading along, listen to two different recordings and try to hear where each section starts. Then follow the lead sheet while listening. Connecting what you see to what you hear is how lead sheets turn into tunes you truly know.
How to use this Lester Leaps in Lead Sheet PDF: print it or keep it on a tablet, mark the form sections and key centers in pencil, and write the guide tones you want to target above the tricky bars. Revisit those notes after each practice session so the tune gets easier every week.
Is it hard to play? It’s intermediate. Recordings to study: Count Basie’s Kansas City Seven 1939 recording. Learn more about the composer on Lester Young’s Wikipedia page, and find more rhythm changes lead sheets on Minedit.