Jay Leonhart drew inspiration early in his musical life from the Oscar Peterson Trio (with Ray Brown and Herb Ellis), which serves somewhat as a model for this trio date. With pianist Ted Rosenthal and guitarist Joe Cohn, they put together a delightful set, sharing the solo spotlight and playing superb backgrounds for one another. Each of the musicians wrote fresh charts for the session. The bassist added lyrics to Tommy Flanagan's Beyond the Bluebird (retitled My Bluebird) with the composer's approval, though his bass solo steals the spotlight from his vocal. Leonhart's arrangement of C Jam Blues explores new ground by deftly re-harmonizing Duke Ellington's famous piece. For Real is the one original on the disc, a challenging vocal feature for the leader. Rosenthal's scores If I Only Had a Brain as a jaunty waltz with some occasionally ominous bass chords thrown in for fun, while Nobody Else but Me is a straight-ahead swinger. His playful look at Jitterbug Waltz will delight fans of Fats Waller. The guitarist chose to arrange three compositions by his late father, tenor saxophonist Al Cohn. Take Four serves as a snappy opener while featuring some of the best solos of the date in this neglected bop masterpiece. You and Me is another bop cooker, played over the chord changes to Tea for Two. The sauntering Two Funky People, featuring a humorous arco bass solo by the leader, wraps this thoroughly enjoyable CD. ~ Ken Dryden, Rovi

1		Take Four
2		If I Only Had A Brain
3		Cool
4		Nobody Else But Me
5		Shall We Dance
6		My Bluebird
7		Jitterbug Waltz
8		C Jam Blues
9		You And Me
10		I Loves You, Porgy
11		Bop Kick
12		For Real
13		Two Funky People

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