“Lester Leaps In”

[Count Basie, Basie, Americans #1 Band, Columbia/Legacy: C4K 87110, 4 CD set, 1936-51, c2003] Count Basie Kansas City Seven, “Lester Leaps In” (Count Basie), September 5, 1939. Lester Young, tenor saxophone (ts); Buck Clayton, trumpet (t); Dicky Wells, trombone, (tb); Count Basie, piano (p); Freddie Green, guitar (g); Walter Page, bass (b); Jo Jones, drums (d)

Topic 1: The order of solos in this piece is: Young, Basie/Young trading four bars. Provide counter numbers for Lester Young’s tenor sax solo that is played after the melody. Describe his solo style and try to include some detail. Now describe the chorus between 01:38 and 02:08. In this chorus Count Basie and Lester Young trade four-bar phrases in a call-and- response manner that is called “trading fours.” How many fours do they trade? The band returns in the chorus beginning at 02:09 and plays a short riff. Describe how Young ‘answers’ this riff. Who answers the band’s riff in the 8 bars beginning at 02:17 and then who answers the 8 bars beginning at 02:33? What is your impression of this piece?

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