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"Lester Leaps In" was composed by tenor saxophonist Lester Young for Count Basie's Kansas City Seven in 1939. Young was a revolutionary voice on the tenor saxophone, whose light, melodic approach and relaxed tone profoundly influenced the development of cool jazz and modern improvisation.

The tune is a contrafact built on the chord changes of George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm" — the ubiquitous "rhythm changes" form — cast in a 32-bar AABA structure in B♭ major. The melody is a straightforward riff, making it an ideal vehicle for extended improvisation and a perennial favorite at jam sessions. Young's improvisational approach on the original recording is notably "horizontal," treating entire sections as belonging to a single key center rather than outlining every chord — a groundbreaking stylistic departure from the prevailing vertical approach of players like Coleman Hawkins.

The 1939 recording by Count Basie's Kansas City Seven is the definitive version, recognized as a milestone in American music. The interplay between Young's flowing tenor lines and Basie's spare, swinging piano comping captures the essence of the Kansas City swing style at its finest.